Soon after seeing Tamna Island, Elder Niu gave the order to turn the rudder and use the Danqi needle to drive due north and west.

In March, the spring and the scenery are bright, the waves are not alarming, and the view on the sea is excellent. Zhao Hao can see the islands in the North Korean sea from time to time with a telescope, which are excellent navigation markers.

In fact, you don't even need to look at the charts here, as long as you have a compass, you will definitely be able to drive to Tianjin. Anyway, the coast is either the territory of the Ming Dynasty or the territory of North Korea, and there is no danger at all. It's nothing more than a little detour.

Therefore, the rest of the voyage is very easy, Zhao Hao accompanies the girls every day to fish, chat, look at the stars, talk about life, and do not feel bored at all.

On this day, he was in the cabin, playing mahjong with his godmother, when he suddenly heard the sailors on the mast outside shouting in surprise: "I see the land!" ”

Zhao Gongzi, who was about to lose, pushed the card, picked up the binoculars, and ran to the wheelhouse to look.

Sure enough, at nine o'clock, a group of green peaks appeared on the continent. At the end of the continent is a promontory with majestic cliffs.

The end of the mountain, the end of the sky.

This is Weihaiwei, the easternmost point of the Shandong Peninsula.

"It's time to Shandong." Elder Niu said with a relaxed expression: "From here, use a single nail needle to perform forty watches, and you will go directly to Dagukou." It took exactly 100 hours. ”

"It's really fast." Zhao Hao couldn't help but sigh: "The last time I left Beijing, I hurried and hurried, and it took nearly a month to arrive in Nanjing. ”

"Childe, this is extremely fast, the boats are all for three months, and there are many people who are overdue to four months." Elder Niu said with emotion: "Although our trip is exceptionally calm, even if the weather is bad, we can arrive in half a month at most." ”

Zhao Haoxin said that in fact, if you sail along the North Korean side and use the warm current, you can save at least another day.

But the crew likes to sail close to their own country, which gives them a greater sense of security. Maybe the old irons of the Yuan Dynasty were also out of this consideration, so they would rather spend an extra day and go against the current.

"But from now on, we will be able to be seen by the coastal guards." Elder Niu was a little nervous and said, "With such a conspicuous fleet as ours, it is estimated that it will attract an investigation." ”

"Afraid of what? Who would dare to stop the eldest princess's drive, even at sea? Zhao Gongzi cheered him up, but he couldn't help but beat a little drum in his heart. There is no royal law on the sea, and if there are officials and soldiers who want to make a fortune and make a cameo appearance as a bandit, it will also be a test for the coast guard.

~~

In charge of the security of this shipping is the 500 Coast Guard team led by Wang Rulong and Ma Yinglong. Because there are few people on board, they are not evenly distributed among each boat. Instead, five sand patrol boats were converted into warships, each carrying a hundred security guards, in addition to the captain and sailors.

The five boats looked the same as the rest of the sand patrol boats, but none of them were loaded with grain, the planks were thickened, and the waterline was covered with copper. Bamboo nails and gillnets were hung on the side of the ship to prevent the enemy from climbing up when it was docked.

Except for each grain ship, which was given two Franc machines for self-defense, the remaining fifty-five, and five bronze snake cannons, were placed on the decks of these five ships. In the later period of the anti-Japanese war in the southeast, the Qi family army mainly engaged in naval warfare, and Wang Rulong certainly knew the truth that only by concentrating firepower could it be powerful.

It's just that this bit of firepower is still not enough to see on the sea. He knew that a slightly decent pirate regiment had a hundred cannons. And it's not a thing like the Franc machine that has a short range and little power, and is between guns and cannons.

Once you encounter the kind of sea ship with one or two thousand materials, and the kind of more than a dozen cannons on the head, the firepower will be completely suppressed. He can only fight if he picks up the strings as soon as possible.

But in that case, it is inevitable that the tiger will be transferred away from the mountain, what should the grain fleet do?

As the escort party, the pressure is even greater.

Along the way, Wang Rulong slept with one eye open, and it wasn't until he entered Laizhou Bay that half of his hanging heart was relaxed.

Sailing close to the coastline here, the chances of escaping are much greater. Moreover, the two major coastal defense areas of Daming Denglai and Liaodong guard the Bohai Bay like a gateway. You can also call in North Korean sailors to help at any time, so there are usually no pirates who will make waves here.

The reason why I put down half of it is because there are still threats from the official army,

Wang Rulong knew that the Ming Dynasty was in the northern coastal defense, which was quite crotch-pulling. Not only did they have a special naval division, but the largest warships in Denglai and Liaodong were only 400 materials, and they had no long-distance sailing ability, and there was a serious shortage of personnel.

The reason is one word, that is, 'poor', I heard that the officials and troops in Fujian and Guangdong have all changed to black-tailed boats to fight pirates. There are two poor places in Liaodong, Shandong, and there is no money to build ships at all.

Asked the court, but the court had no money. Anyway, there haven't been pirates harassing the north for more than a hundred years. Moreover, Jizhen is stationed with tens of thousands of elite officers and soldiers who defend against the Tartars. Can't beat the Mongols who are good at riding and archery, coming and going like the wind, and can't beat the unclothed pirates? Just look at which one of the blind dares to go ashore and hang around?

It is because the court does not allocate money. Wang Rulong heard Qi Dashuai, who was born in Dengzhou Wei, say that the military households of the guard in Denglai Liaodong had no food all year round and had to drive a warship to the sea to fish. If you meet a fat sheep at sea, you will change your body and ask you if you want to eat knife-cut noodles or wonton noodles?

~~

Sure enough, after passing the mountain, you can see the fishing boats dotted on the sea...... There are many hills in the area around Denglaiwei Haiwei, and there is a serious shortage of arable land, and the coastal people can only rely on fishing to make a living.

Seeing 50 large ships of 400 materials, lined up in three columns, each with a distance of 100 feet, coming from the east, the fishermen who were casting their nets were all stunned.

It wasn't until the huge fleet that seemed to them drove past that the military suddenly came to their senses and hurriedly drove the ship back to the letter.

After the meal, the smoke rose from the shore.

The sky was clear and cloudless, and the smoke could be seen clearly from ten miles away.

Soon, the beacons along the coast were lit one after another, and the people, the army and the people were all panicked.

The little sampan that was fishing at sea hurriedly rowed back desperately. Merchant ships, large and small, fled to the shore, and the sailors, who were too slow, began to dump their goods overboard despite the bitter shouts of the merchants.

The sea is chaotic into a pot of porridge, and there are chickens and dogs jumping in Penglai Water City.

The alarm bell sounded throughout the city, and the generals and guerrillas wore armor under the service of their own soldiers and rushed to the Yamen of the Soldier Preparatory Road to obey the order.

The recruited sailors and sailors brought out guns, cannons, rockets, fire ravens, and all kinds of gunpowder shells from the dock arsenal, and loaded them onto the ship in a chaotic manner, ready to sail!

This water city is built on the basis of the swordfish village in the Song Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty, the negative mountain controls the sea, the terrain is precipitous, the water gate, the breakwater, the flat wave platform, the wharf, the lighthouse, the city wall, the fort, the moat and other facilities are readily available. It is a water city with the most perfect regulation in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the station of the Yamen of Denglai Military Preparation Road.

But the hard shell can't hide the weak nature, and at this time, Qin Shousheng, the supreme military governor of the two prefectures of Denglai, has become an ant on a hot pot.

In this water city, which gathers all the warships of Dengzhou Wei and Laizhou Wei, there are only forty-three serious warships, and most of them are small ships under 100 materials.

To add insult to injury, there is a big shortage of artillery, gunpowder, and even sailors, so there are only a dozen ships that can really have combat effectiveness.

And according to the report of many military households, that fleet is a large ship of 400 materials, as many as 50 or 60 ships, how can this be beaten!

It wasn't until the generals of Shuicheng and the guerrillas and other generals arrived that Qin Bingxian calmed down, walked to the chart on the wall and said, "Everyone, almost tomorrow morning, that fleet will arrive at us. What should we do? ”

The only task of Penglai Water City is to guard the entrance of Bohai Bay, and must not allow enemy ships to cross the north of Water City, forming a chain of islands from Long Island and End Mountain.

Once the enemy ships break through the island chain, they can enter the Bohai Bay and approach Tanggu. It's not easy for others to say, Qin Bingxian's head must not be saved.

Seeing that Bingbeidao had already panicked, the old and serious General Pi Shen hurriedly persuaded: "Bingxian should be restless, this fleet that suddenly appeared, excluding sailors, is at most 10,000 soldiers and horses." ”

"Oh......" When Qin Shousheng heard this, his eyes darkened with fright, and he almost fainted. The heart said that I, a civilian official who has not read a soldier's book for a day, why should I bear such undue pressure?

"Don't panic, the last general will say the worst. You have forgotten the pride of our Dengzhou Wei, Qi Dashuai can train in Jizhen Town! General Pi Shen hurriedly added: "Now the army of Gongwei Jingshi is gathered in Tianjin. The enemy army is 10,000 people, but it just happened to train Qi Dashuai. ”

General Pi Shen paused and said, "What's more, how many people they have, and whether they are enemies or not, they still have two words." ”

"Hmm." Qin Bingxian was not so panicked at this time, he touched his neatly trimmed lips and beards, nodded and said, "General Pi is reasonable. So how do we do that? ”

"First warn Tianjin Wei, and ask Liaodongwei and Weihaiwei for help." General Pi Shen hurriedly said in a deep voice: "At the same time, immediately send a clipper to reconnoiter and monitor, and the last general is willing to lead the main force to line up in the waters of Long Island, even if they die with the enemy, they will definitely not let them cross the defensive line one step!" ”

"It's really a loyal minister, General Pi!" Qin Shousheng was moved and said with tears in his eyes: "This official should have lived and died with you, but you also know that I am seasick." I can only wait for your triumphant news here! ”

"Please wait for the good news!" General Pi Shen clasped his fists and saluted, and led the guerrillas and other subordinates to go out proudly and walk towards the dock.

"Boss, are we really going to fight to the death?" Far away from the military garrison yamen, the guerrilla behind him couldn't help but ask.

"." General Pi Shen took a sip and said: "Get ready for the clipper, let's follow the old way when the situation is not good, anyway, the top cylinder is surnamed Qin." ”

The so-called old way is to sink your own battleship. Because the navy has its peculiarities, it is not like the army, if you fight to the death and do not retreat, you have to fight to the last man. Otherwise, they will all be considered to have escaped.

Once the navy's warships sank, the sailors and sailors could not fight, and it was only natural to withdraw from the battlefield, so it was not considered to be an escape......