"Lord Qiqi, after repeated verification, our Beiyang Navy Division has lost a total of 875 people in this storm, of which 212 are corpses, 663 are missing, and more than 1,200 are injured, of which 174 are unable to participate in the next operation due to serious injuries." On the coast outside Penghu City, Qi Yuangong gave up his hand to report.

Rows of corpses were lined up on the beach, and because there were too many warships, the Longmen seaport in Penghu was instantly blocked, and many soldiers whose clothes were not yet dry knelt on the ground and said goodbye to the dead robes.

"What about the ship's losses?" Liu Hong said with a frown.

"Lord Hui, there were two sentinel ships that were disintegrated by the impact of the waves, but fortunately, the Jingyuan, which was close before the sinking, saved all the soldiers on board, so that there were fourteen steam-powered warships with steam furnaces and fryers, and one of them was the No. 2 Fu ship." Qi Yuanfu, the second elder of the Qi family, continued.

Hearing that the stone in Liu Hongji's heart finally landed, there was no problem with the troop carrier, the loss was still expected, and the Beiyang Navy Division was not injured.

"Count the detailed list of dead soldiers, Qi Laosan, send more people to the nearby waters to search and rescue and salvage the soldiers who are still expected to survive, Gao Cheng, you are responsible for the investigation and vigilance around Penghu.

Yuansuke, the logistics will be handed over to you, be sure to settle the soldiers to eat and live. Liu Hong gradually gave orders to several generals of the Beiyang Naval Division in turn.

At this time, Penghu City is said to be a city, in fact, even the inland larger towns can not be compared, the town is mostly fishermen, usually rely on the Longmen Port in the east of the city to receive some passing merchant ships, but because this place is not far from the Ryukyus, the merchant ships rarely come here.

Liu Hong gradually summoned a prestigious old fisherman in the local area, and he paid money to buy all the fresh fatty fish in the whole city for the soldiers of the whole army to improve their food.

The old fisherman knew that the person who came was the sailor of the Ming Dynasty, and when he heard that the army was coming to recover Ryukyu, he immediately called on the fishermen of the city to work and labor, and also vacated the largest courtyard in the city for Liu Hongjian to live in.

Liu Hongjian was willing to accept the favor of these poor Han people, and immediately ordered the second child of the Qi family to buy at the market price, and strictly ordered not to disturb the people.

It was still raining in the city from time to time, and the local fishermen seemed to be no longer surprised, and Liu Honggradually shook off the unfavorable mood of leaving the division and ordered the captains of the warships to come to discuss the matter.

He Bin was also brought here, and this guy didn't know if he was frightened by the storm, or if it was the first time he saw so many Ming generals, and he shrank in a corner of the room for a while.

After several days of observation, Liu Hong gradually discovered that He Bin had no ambition other than being greedy for money and afraid of death, and this person was extremely familiar with the Dutch and the nearby seas, and was barely qualified for the work of a staff officer.

"Before the expedition, Admiral Ben said that the unpredictability of the maritime journey is worse than the land war, and the defeat of the Beiyang Naval Division can be regarded as a wake-up call for you, how is the morale of the soldiers? Were you scared? ”

Although the courtyard of the council is dilapidated, the space is not small, and several tables are placed in the house, each of which is placed with freshly steamed fatty fish and the standard military rations of the Beiyang Navy Division - flatbread.

It was when it was time for dinner that Liu Hongjian couldn't let the generals go hungry to discuss things, so he simply talked while eating.

Seeing that no one moved the chopsticks, Liu Hong gradually took the lead in picking up a piece of fish meat and signaled to the generals that they should not be polite.

"Lord Admiral, how can such a small setback affect our morale, there is no one in our Beiyang Naval Division who is afraid of death!" Qi Yuangong said bluntly.

The Beiyang Naval Division was formed and trained by Qi Yuangong, and the imperial court gave the Beiyang Naval Division a very high salary because of Liu Hongji's interference, and as soon as the conscription plan was released, there were always seven or eight people of appropriate age to answer the call.

The recruitment requirements of the Beiyang Navy Division are not only strict, but if they fail to pass during the three-month trial period, they will be directly paid severance pay and return the same way.

In addition, Liu Hongji's sentence in the storm that their lives are more important than the warship, which made the cohesion of the soldiers burst, and the soldiers of the Beiyang Naval Division were no longer afraid when they saw Liu Hong, but respected and awe.

"Well, it is very good, the wounded must be properly treated, and the bereavement of the dead soldier must be distributed to the immediate family of every soldier on time and in the right amount." Liu Hong gradually sighed and said.

He really regretted that he did not find someone to watch the celestial phenomena before he set off, although the people at this time must be more accurate than the weather forecasts in later generations, but it is better than him being so reckless.

"Cui Geng." Liu Hong gradually rushed to Cui Gengdao, the captain of the Jingyuan who was gnawing on flatbread in the back row.

"Humble duty." Cui even carried the flatbread and ate it fragrantly, and was startled by Liu Hong's gradual name.

"This time, your Jingyuan has saved people, and you will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver, and Your Majesty will have a jar of wine." Liu Hong gradually thought about it.

"Lord Admiral!" Cui Geng grinned when he heard this.

It's not for the two hundred taels of silver, the military has always been addicted to alcohol, and Cui is no exception, but you can't drink alcohol in the army, it's better to be a general in peacetime, and occasionally have a little private goods, don't even think about it in wartime.

Moreover, Liu Hong gradually rewarded His Majesty's royal wine, which made Cui even happier, and his colleagues on the side used their elbows to pestle Cui Geng, and handed him a look that he didn't forget to leave for him.

"You are only allowed to drink at night, and you must not be drunk, otherwise military law will be involved." Liu Hong gradually added another sentence, which can be regarded as dispelling Cui Geng's idea of not getting drunk tonight.

"He Bin, I have heard that you are familiar with maritime affairs, and now that the situation of the sailors is in place, how should you deal with it according to your opinion?" Liu Hong gradually narrowed his eyes and said to He Bin in the corner of the room.

"Back to ...... My lord, it was also unexpected to encounter such a big storm, and the small one thought that this was the will of heaven, and the adult should return to Quanzhou to repair, and then make arrangements on a good day. ”

He Bin raised his eyebrows and glanced at Liu Hongji, and said in a low voice.

"The army returned because of the weather, and the Ryukyus were bound to be taken by Admiral." Liu Hong gradually glared at He Bin and said categorically.

Penghu is only half a day away from Ryukyu, and this is all in front of him, and I want him to withdraw, unless the king of heaven Lao Tzu comes.

"Returning to my lordship, it is a bad omen to encounter a storm when going to sea, which shows that God doesn't want us to play Ryukyu, and I hope that your lord will think twice!" Of course, He Bin would not say that he was afraid of death, but prevaricated with the will of heaven.

In fact, he hoped that the Beiyang Navy Division would continue to fight the Ryukyus, but he didn't expect that Liu Hongjian would forcibly bring him with him, and he knew that this would be the case, and he would not have advised Liu Hongjian to attack the Ryukyus immediately.

Anyone who often sails between the Ming Sea and the Ryukyu Sea knows that this sea area will blow southerly winds in summer and northerly winds in winter, and the merchant ships of Daming are all sailing ships, which is not conducive to sailing against the wind.

This is not to say that sailing ships cannot cross the Ryukyu Strait in the summer, in fact, sailing ships can sail against the wind, but they have to go zigzag, not to mention the slow speed, and they are very prone to storms in the summer.

But He Bin expected that none of the generals present knew the Tao, in fact, even if the fishermen went to sea, they would worship and pray again and again for a smooth voyage, not to mention the army.

"Hmph, this king never believes in any providence, come here, take the map!" Liu Hong snorted coldly.

Unless God has good intentions, he will not believe it, Liu Hongjian added another sentence in his heart.

He felt that it was necessary to popularize the knowledge of the senior generals of the Beiyang Naval Division, otherwise he would think that it was the wrath of God when he encountered a storm, which would be a blow to morale.

A moment later, the soldier took the map, and at Liu Hongji's instructions, the soldier hung the map on the wall.

After the map was hung up, Liu Hong gradually stood up and lifted his sleeves, signaled the generals in the back row to move forward, and then coughed and cleared his throat.

If Niu Dabang was present at this time, he would definitely yell: Stand back, our master is going to start pretending.