Chapter 614: Unprepared for the Enemy (Page 1/1)

The main force of the Daming Naval Division, on the bow deck of the fifth-class frigate Ji'an.

Liu Guoxuan's eyes widened, staring at the sea in front of him with the help of the faint morning light, the sky at this time was almost the minimum requirement for boating, usually it was absolutely not allowed to travel at such a fast speed in such a dark situation.

However, the dim light was also beneficial to the surprise attack on Laizhou Port, thanks to the idea of few and elite sailors, there were only more than 30 Daming warships that were puffing up their bows and stern sails at this time, and they were gathered into a dense formation as much as possible, so it was extremely difficult to find seven or eight nautical miles away.

In fact, Liu Guoxuan could already vaguely see the breakwater of Laizhou Port, and the Ji'an was not spotted by any patrol ships on the way. Suppressing his excitement, he looked up at the pennant fluttering at the top of the mast—for concealment, there was only a small white flag, not the flag of the Great Ming Navy—it was the north wind.

Laizhou Port is a long and narrow waterway bordering the Bohai Sea in the north and extending more than 20 miles to the south. Had it not been for a zigzag turn at the entrance, the fully sailed ship would have reached the deepest part of the harbor in less than half an hour.

Liu Guoxuan was indescribably excited in his heart, and said to himself: "It's really God's help." Suddenly, the lookout on the mast waved the signal flag in his hand anxiously, and then beat the mast rhythmically.

Liu Guoxuan was very familiar with the words of the sailor's flag, and immediately searched the water surface of the three compass points in the south-west according to the telescope reported by the lookout, and soon found a small jet-black ship.

"It's a thief patrol ship!" He turned his head sharply and instructed his adjutant, "Raise the command flag and let Han Shizhong and Li Guangbi outflank from both sides." Try to jump the gang and grab the boat, and don't fire until you have to! ”

The only forwards he led were the Ji'an and three sixth-class corvettes, all of which emptied the food, fresh water and other items in the holds, in order to maximize the flexibility of the warships and clean up the patrol ships along the way to cover the naval division.

"Yes!"

When Han Shizhong and Li Guangbi sailed out quickly from both sides, the small ship obviously also spotted the oncoming uninvited guests, but it seemed to think that this was its own warship - Zheng Zhilong's "Wei" Galen warship was also this kind of tall soft sail, although it was a little smaller, but how could it be distinguished clearly in the dim light.

On the bow of the captive ship, a flag officer was still stunned and desperately waving the flag, asking who the Ji'an was and what it was doing.

It wasn't until Han Shizhong rushed to its four or five hundred paces that the patrol ship felt that something might be wrong, and cautiously turned the bow, but still had no intention of warning.

Liu Guoxuan was also overjoyed to see this scene in the telescope, and hurriedly whispered to the adjutant: "Order Han Shizhong to wait for the opportunity to crash and destroy the captive ship!" ”

"Yes!"

Han Shizhong immediately corrected the direction of the bow, and Yang Fan came through the waves, but there were two people standing in the bow of the ship dressed in the clothes of Qing army sailors, and even wore a braid made of a ponytail on the back of their heads.

The officers on the Jianyu ship also carefully looked at the plywood ship opposite, and although they saw that the deck seemed to be their own people, they never received a reply from the flag.

In another moment, the Qing army found that the ship was rushing straight towards them without slowing down, and the patrol ship was suddenly in a panic, and the officers and soldiers rushed and shouted, "Turn the rudder!" Parry! ”

"Beware, it's going to crash!"

"Flash the ......"

But they made a big turn just now, and at this time they were facing Han Shizhong with their starboard side, and it was a crosswind, which was extremely clumsy compared to Han Shizhong.

Immediately, there was a dull loud bang, and the bow of the Ming corvette slammed into the rear of the enemy ship. The ship, which was no more than fifty or sixty tons, was instantly knocked out of a hole six or seven feet wide, and at the same time, the hull was also pushed to a serious tilt, and a large amount of seawater poured into it frantically from the breach.

The Han Shizhong, on the other hand, had a beech hull nearly five inches thick, and although it also tilted under the collision, it regained its balance almost immediately as it changed the direction of the sails and withdrew its hull.

At the same time, the Lee Kwang Pil was also coming from the other direction. Two frigates sandwiched the sinking shipwreckage in the middle, and the sailors stood in a row on the deck, constantly firing their bows and arrows, shooting the captives who fell overboard.

After just one meal, no one was struggling on the water near the enemy ship. The lights in the ship seemed to have been knocked down, and flames came out of the bilge.

Following behind the Shao Wu, Zheng Chenggong saw a fire rising on the sea in front of him, and couldn't help frowning, so he ordered: "Laizhou Port will soon see these thick smokes, and immediately order all ships to disperse and change to the 'B' plan." ”

"Yes!"

As the command flag of the Shao Wu was raised, all the naval warships were immediately divided into six teams, with large ships of more than 300 tons as the core, and corvettes followed closely on the left and right, all of them pulled up their full sails, and each rushed towards the predetermined target in the harbor at the fastest speed.

The Ji'an also saw the flagship's order, and Liu Guoxuan was very annoyed at the moment, the 'B' plan meant that the sneak attack was terminated and a frontal attack was to be made.

Fortunately, at this time, he had bypassed the "zigzag" bend at the entrance of Laizhou Port, and was very close to the anchor ship of Jianyu, and he no longer hesitated at the moment, so that the four boats under his command all raised their full sails and rushed straight to the south.

After another journey, the sky began to get brighter, and Liu Guoxuan could see the situation in Laizhou Port without a telescope. There were a lot of masts everywhere you look, big ships outside, small boats inside, tied with a large number of cables, and densely packed around the docks like dogs' teeth, at least five or six hundred!

But unlike what he had expected, when the drums were beating loudly and the captives were running around for fortification, the harbor of Laizhou was still as quiet as ever, and all the masts of all the ships were bare, and there was no sign that a single ship was about to raise its sails.

It turned out that Zheng Du, who was in charge of the port garrison, did not think about the Ming army daring to attack the heavily guarded Laizhou Port at all. When he heard that his officers had reported that smoke was rising from the sea, he thought that a lost fishing boat had caught fire nearby, so he sent two boats to investigate, and then went back to continue his half-eaten breakfast.

Although Liu Guoxuan didn't know why, it was obvious that Jianyu hadn't reacted yet, and he was very happy in his heart. When he had sailed less than three miles from the enemy ships in the mooring harbor, he saw two rushing boats approaching unhurriedly.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he said loudly to the adjutant, "Raise the order flag." Beat the drums, open all the cannon windows, and get ready for war! ”

"Yes!"

At this time, the entire Laizhou port could see the black barrels of the four warships poking out of them, and they pounced violently, but they were all stunned on the spot for a while.

The two prisoners who had been sent out to reconnoiter saw it even more clearly, and immediately turned the bow of the ship, and at the same time hurriedly fired a warning with the bowl mouth cannon on the bow.

(End of chapter)

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