It would not take Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang's fleet to return to Ceylon from Kalihat, and Huang Zhong of Ceylon had received a telegram from Lu Ren, so he was ready to accept Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang.

I won't say much about these trivial matters, just say that two days after Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang returned to Ceylon, what everyone didn't expect was that Lu Ren actually rushed to Ceylon with his exclusive ship, and it was a single ship that came over like this, and Huang Zhong was almost scared out of illness at that time, and then Huang Zhong, who was so angry, relied on his old age and old qualifications to beat Lu Ren ruthlessly, saying How can there be a lord like you? It's okay not to say hello, but how can you not even bring a frigate? What if something happens to you Lu Ren!?

Lu Ren knew that this was because Old Man Huang cared about him, so he didn't say anything, just apologized to Huang Zhong with a smile...... Lu Ren would come over like this, in fact, he was in a hurry, and if Lu Ren's exclusive ship was sailing at full speed, where could there be a ship besides Lu Lan's ship? Because he was in a hurry to come over, Lu Ren didn't think much about the superfluous things. But to be honest, Lu Ren's ship was not something that those wooden sailing ships at that time could deal with, so Lu Ren would not worry about this kind of thing at all.

Without gossiping, Lu Ren pulled Sun Shangxiang over after paying Huang Zhong a smile and handing over those miscellaneous things to Huang Zhong. And Sun Shangxiang and Minchan had a very close relationship before, and at this time, because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, they were whispering to Minchan, and suddenly they were pulled over by Lu Ren like this, and they were inevitably a little unhappy: "Mr. Lu, what are you doing here?" ”

Lu Ren said: "Some things were difficult to explain clearly in the telegram before, so I want to ask you in detail now." Well...... How many men and ships did you lose in that battle? ”

Hearing Lu Ren ask about this, Sun Shangxiang's expression was a little darkened because of the conversation with Minchan before: "Our Jiangdong disciples have broken more than 370 people. As for ships, there are no major problems with my ship, and some of the damage is not difficult to repair; Brother Zhong's ship is also fine, only two or three are damaged and a little troublesome; There were no losses on the five large ships, but two were overhauled; Fifteen medium ships were sunk five, three were seriously damaged, the rest were lightly wounded; Twelve of the thirty small ships were sunk, eight were seriously damaged, five were lightly damaged, and the remaining few were fine. ”

may think that this number is a bit unpretty, Sun Shangxiang immediately added: "But we don't lose." The Sabbath fleet consisted of sixty-seven ships, five of which were not sunk, but four were seriously wounded; At least fourteen of the twenty-two medium-sized ships were sunk by us, and the remaining eight were also seriously wounded; Thirty small ships...... Thirteen or fourteen sank, and the rest were basically fine. Mr. Lu, you may not know that the small ships that rest in peace are very flexible, so it is difficult to hit. But once it hits, it's basically a sure thing to sink. ”

Lu Renxin said nonsense! How much HP can a small ship have? If you really take two or three shots, you will basically die and be half-disabled, okay? But the problem is that in a fleet, small ships are indispensable. This may be like modern warfare, whether you use aircraft artillery or tank missiles when you fight, and in the end it is not the same infantry that can be solved by a single bullet to clean up?

Without further afar, Sun Shangxiang may have proved that he was not panicking, and added: "At that time, I was responsible for the pursuit and expulsion of the invading Sabbath fleet, so I was so clear." There may be a small and medium-sized number of one or two ships, but the overall number will not be wrong. ”

Lu Ren hurriedly waved his hand: "I know that you are not the kind of person who will cheat on major matters, county lord. ”

Sun Shangxiang looked at Lu Ren and asked very cautiously: "We lost so many ships in this battle, Mr. Lu, you won't ask me to compensate, right?" ”

Lu Ren was dumbfounded: "What kind of calf?" Am I like that kind of person who doesn't know what to do? When you come here, go back and report to me the list of Jiangdong children who died in the war, and I will ask Xun Gong to give me generous sympathy for these Jiangdong children who died in battle. In addition, my main army will be able to come over in another seven or eight days, and I will reward you Jiangdong disciples heavily. You Jiangdong children are working so hard, and I, Lu Ren, can't lose you. ”

Sun Shangxiang immediately saluted Lu Ren and said, "Then Shangxiang has the right to thank Mr. Lu on behalf of the Jiangdong disciples." However, Mr. Lu, Shang Xiang still has something unclear, I wonder if Mr. Lu can answer for Shang Xiang? ”

Lu Ren said: "If you have anything to say, you can say it." I know what kind of temperament you have, and now it's not on any formal occasion, don't you be so literate, okay? ”

Sun Shangxiang grinned, and then frowned slightly: "Although this battle is a little damaged, we won, and Old Man Huang's fleet is also ready to go, and it will be able to rush to the aid of Kalikhit in five days at most, but Mr. Lu, why do you want me and Brother Zhong to abandon Kaliheit and return to Ceylon?" ”

Lu Ren was stunned when he heard this: "This, this kind of problem? Why didn't Gongjin explain it to you? With Gongjin's intelligence, it's impossible not to understand my intentions in arranging this, right? ”

Sun Shangxiang shook his head, and the person also looked a little unhappy: "That day, he just asked our Jiangdong children to pack up and return to Ceylon." When I wanted to ask him, he said that he hadn't slept all night and wanted to sleep, and then he had been locked in the cabin for the past few days, without saying a word to me, and he was staring at the chessboard in front of him all day long, and I didn't know what he was thinking...... Oh yes, the chess game he put forward was the same as the previous naval battle. ”

Lu Ren didn't know that Zhou Yu was depressed because he couldn't keep a better name in history, so he hid in the flight alone and sulked. However, now Zhou Yu must be thinking about how to improve his tactics, and Lu Ren can think of it. In fact, if you think about it, although Zhou Yu has learned some related things and conducted some exercises and confrontations before, it is the first time that he has really fought to the death with a navy of the same level. For a general with good military literacy, it is natural to conduct self-reflection in a timely manner after the war.

Thinking about this section, Lu Ren didn't want to be in a hurry to disturb Zhou Yu's "hang-up", anyway, it was the same to ask Sun Shangxiang about some related things, and Sun Shangxiang was unwary of himself, and he could say everything. If it is changed to Zhou Yu's body, Zhou Yu may have reservations...... For some of Zhou Yu's thoughts, Lu Ren's heart is also very clear.

So, at this moment, Lu Ren smiled at Sun Shangxiang, and then explained: "County Lord, I know that Kalihat was taken down by your Jiangdong disciples, and if you are suddenly evacuated like this, your heart will be very unhappy." But there are some things I can't help but do! ”

Sun Shangxiang said: "Mr. Lu, it's okay if you are complaining to you." But at that time, couldn't you have ordered Old Man Huang to rush to Kalihet's aid immediately? ”

Lu Ren said: "Old Man Huang, the relevant preparations here are not in place, so even if he can help you, it can only be a very hasty rush, and then you are also in Kalihat, it is difficult to hold on for a long time." ”

After a pause at this point, and after organizing the language a little more, Lu Rencai continued: "You Jiangdong disciples are the vanguard I sent to Kalihet. In the same way, the fleet of rest you encounter is only a vanguard fleet. Didn't you say in your telegram the other day that you had captured a prisoner, and asked that the rest of the fleet, numbering more than one hundred and seventy ships, was now concentrated in Bombay, north of Khalihat? If your two vanguard fleets fought, the rest fleet will know how many troops you have at hand, and that there will be a certain amount of loss after the battle. If it were you, the county lord, how would you choose? ”

Sun Shangxiang thought for a while and responded: "Don't count those who fought with me, there are still more than a hundred warships in peace, which have an absolute advantage over our troops." If it were me...... Well, I should have ordered the fleet to go out right away. More than 100 of them fought against more than 30 boats that were still wounded, and we barely had to fight on this side. ”

Then, without waiting for Lu Ren to speak, Sun Shangxiang hurriedly said: "But Mr. Lu, I have also thought about this matter, but you can completely let Old Man Huang go to reinforce us immediately!" ”

Lu Ren said: "Didn't I say it all just now?" Old Man Huang's preparations here have not yet been completed, and it would be too hasty to run to reinforce you in this situation. In contrast, the Rest Fleet is likely to be prepared, so wouldn't we be too much of a loser if we start fighting? It takes courage to fight, but you can't just fight for nothing, right? ”

Sun Shangxiang thought about it after listening to it, and finally nodded to Lu Ren. But anyone can see that Sun Shangxiang's face at this time still has some unwillingness.

Lu Ren sensed Sun Shangxiang's unwillingness, sighed lightly in his heart, and was about to explain more to Sun Shangxiang, but Zhou Yu appeared like a ghost, with a faint smile on his face: "With the situation at that time, even if General Huang sent troops to reinforce us, the maximum number of troops would be five or six thousand, and the number of large and small warships would not exceed seventy. And Bombay, where the Sabbath fleet is located, is not far from Kalhiat, which means that our ships will not have time to be repaired, and once they start, they may not be of much use, and then they will only increase their losses. And General Huang's reinforcements themselves are not as good as rest, and if they come in a hurry, they will suffer a big loss against the enemy. ”

After hearing this, Lu Ren and Sun Shangxiang nodded one after another, and then Sun Shangxiang pretended to be angry and said, "Brother Zhong, are you willing to come out?" ”

Zhou Yu smiled at Sun Shangxiang: "Lu Nanhai has come in person, where can I hide in the cabin anymore?" Also, I haven't finished my words yet, if I don't make these words clear to you, Yi Shangxiang's temper really doesn't know how much more you have to complain. ”

Sun Shangxiang was speechless, and then a little fried: "How can there be?" ”

Lu Ren and Zhou Yu looked at each other and smiled, and Lu Ren motioned for Zhou Yu to continue. And when it comes to the actual ability to fight, Lu Ren knows that he is not a little worse than Zhou Yu, so there are some things that he may have thought of, but they will not be as thoughtful as Zhou Yu.

Looking around the dock again, Zhou Yu raised his hand and pointed to a fort somewhere on the dock and said: "Shangxiang, don't forget, although we attacked Kalihut before, we could only be regarded as an attack, and we didn't really take Kalihet, and Nagopur was still hiding in his city to defend it." And because we were not able to take Calihet in earnest, and because of our limited strength and short time, we had not yet had time to build coastal fortifications at the critical point of the harbor at Caliheit, in other words, we did not even have a real place to stand and resist.

"And the purpose of Nagopur's stubborn defense is to wait for the rest to come to help, and now that the Sabbath fleet has arrived, Nagopur will definitely join forces with the rest fleet, and it will be dangerous for us to suffer from the enemy on our backs. Even if we were to abandon our ships and go to land, we would lose our food and grass because the harbour roads would be cut off in peace, and the best outcome would be to retreat east or south to the territory of the Caste Revolutionary Army, and then back to Ceylon.

"Anyway, it was difficult for us to hold Kalihet at that time, and if we insisted on fighting, it would only be to increase our losses, so it was better to retreat first, so that at least we could keep our troops and fleet, and then wait for Lu Nanhai to complete preparations here, and then have a decisive battle with the rest fleet."

After saying this, Zhou Yu smiled at Lu Ren again: "Lu Nanhai, do you say that's the case?" ”

Lu Ren nodded, his general idea was indeed like this. According to the information available so far, the number of ships of the Sabbath fleet sailing to the line from Bombay to Kalihat is probably more than 170, and even if it was damaged in the previous naval battle, it should still have about 150 ships.

On the other hand, the naval strength that Lu Ren arranged in Ceylon is about 160 based on Huang Zhong's 10,000 men and Zhou Yu's and Sun Shangxiang's 5,000 men. Of course, this figure does not include the ships of supply transportation, and the figures of Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang's previous losses have not been deducted.

In short, if you only use this number, the combat power of the two sides is roughly equal. But this is a war, and it's not a fair duel, how can you look at the comparison of power and be stupid in the past? And what is one of the keys to fighting a war? That is to concentrate superior forces to beat the enemy in groups! Whoever has more troops has a better chance of winning!

Lu Ren actually has an advantage in this regard. So far, Lu Ren's total naval strength in Central Asia is 25,000, including Huang Zhong's subordinates, and the total number of large, medium, and small warships of all kinds is nearly 300, and Sun Shangxiang and Zhou Yu's fleets are not counted in this. Then, in addition to the coastal defense forces that must be left in places like Malacca and Rangoon, Lu Ren can assemble the total number of naval ships in Ceylon can reach 200 and then nod.

That is to say, according to Lu Ren's calculations, he has a certain military advantage over the Sabbath fleet, and on this basis, he calculates the advantage in the performance of the naval warships. It's just that Lu Ren still needs some time to complete the assembly of the fleet now......