"It's time to make a decision. Otherwise, the entire fleet of sailors will be lost in our hands. The commander of the imperial court sailor muttered to himself with a heavy face.

After finishing, he suddenly shifted his gaze to the deputy general next to him and asked.

"General Li, your sailors have more combat experience than your own officer, and you have also fought many naval battles. What do you think we should do now? ”

"Retreat, disperse for retreat......" The adjutant general replied without thinking.

However, before he finished speaking, a trace of unwilling expression appeared on the commander's face.

As the deputy general of this water division, he knows very well what the marshal around him thinks at this moment.

There are not only worries about their own future and prospects, but also unwillingness to this naval battle in front of them.

In the eyes of everyone in the imperial court, this naval battle was definitely a must-win for the imperial court sailors. And now, a naval battle that must be won was defeated by himself, and he suffered heavy losses.

In this case, as the direct commander of this naval division, as long as he returns to the capital, he will be participated by all the ministers of the court. In this way, his official position and rank in the court will definitely not be kept. However, what worries him the most is not these, but the lives of himself and his family.

Because, Emperor Chongzhen's punishment of the defeated general has always been very severe. A bad, angry Emperor Chongzhen directly gave himself a punishment of dismissal and beheading.

As for unwillingness, then there is no need to say more.

Any general, with more than a hundred warships, is given a team that has only twenty warships. And the sailors who had been in the army for less than twenty days were defeated. will be very unwilling.

Look at the changing expression on the face of the big handsome. I was afraid that the marshal in front of him would make some irrational decision because of a momentary impulse, and finally bury the vice admiral of the entire fleet, so he hurriedly opened his mouth and analyzed.

"Dashuai, if you want to ask for this passive beating situation in front of us, we have a total of two ways to go. The first is to strike back immediately and take advantage of the numerical superiority of our ships. Approach the Haw Par warships and attack them to destroy them. ”

"However, after the artillery battle that has just ended, the last general thinks that as long as we show signs of counterattack. The Haw Par Army ships that are pursuing us will surely repeat their old tricks and retreat in the direction of the docks, bringing us back into the range of their heavy artillery, using the heavy guns they have placed on the docks. Attack us. ”

"In this way, waiting for us. There is only one ending left, and in the rounds of attacks by the heavy artillery and sailors of the Tiger and Leopard Army, the whole army is wiped out. ”

After seeing the marshal nodding meaningfully, the vice president continued to analyze: "The last general believes that no matter how much you want revenge, the marshal, you will not make the decision to bury the two entire fleets in the sea." ”

"As for the second option that the last general said, that is the retreat that the last general just mentioned. It is necessary not only to retreat immediately, but also to disperse the retreat. ”

"According to the observation of the last general, there are only eighteen Haw Par Army warships pursuing us. If we retreat in a scattered manner, the limited number of Haw Par Navy ships can only chase the eighteen warships in our middle to continue the attack. As for the remaining twenty or so warships, they can take advantage of the situation to get out of the battlefield. ”

"In this way, we can leave more than twenty warships back to Tianjin. The last general believed that no matter from any point of view, leaving more than 20 warships to withdraw to Tianjin would be the best outcome for us. ”

At this time, the changing and complicated face of the big handsome finally stopped changing. After a long sigh, he said helplessly.

"In that case, then retreat, disperse and retreat...... Withdraw as many ships as you can...... As for the court and the emperor, the official will give them an explanation...... The herald ordered all the warships of the naval division to freely choose the direction of retreat and immediately retreat in the direction of Tianjin......"

Facing the imperial navy divisions that quickly dispersed on the battlefield, Li Xinlong wanted to continue the pursuit with the fleet and destroy the eighteen warships.

However, when he saw the excited and tired soldiers around him. Li Xinlong directly dispelled this thought.

Because, when the naval battle in front of us is fought here, the ownership of victory is self-evident.

The pursuit continued, although some success could be achieved. However, for this newly formed naval fleet, the farther you go into the sea in the dark sea, the greater the risk.

Besides, he still has the task of escorting tomorrow, and there is no need at all, for the sake of a little military exploits, he will put his soldiers in danger again.

Therefore, Li Xinlong, commander of the First Fleet of the Haw Par Army, also issued a retreat order in a very timely manner.

In this way, the imperial navy division with heavy losses was very lucky to leave behind a full forty-six warships.

In the brightly lit Dengzhou Port, Li Xinlong, who still had a strong sense of leisure, had just stepped on the ground of the wharf, and Wei Zheng, who had been guarding the wharf, greeted him with a smile on his face.

Before Li Xinlong, who looked tired, could speak, Wei Zheng took the first step to speak: "Commander Li, you fought well, you fought very well in this naval battle, and you played the majesty of my Tiger and Leopard Army's naval fleet." Especially at the critical moment, the idea of leading the imperial court sailors to the dock and uniting several heavy artillery regiments to conduct artillery battles with the imperial court sailors was really wonderful, and it directly exceeded the expectations of the commander. ”

Speaking of this, Wei Zheng seemed to think of something.

Under the simultaneous gaze of more than ten pairs of eyes, he announced with a stern face: "Since you have won the battle, and you have achieved results that far exceed the expectations of this commander. That commander fulfilled his promise to all the officers and men of the sailor. From now on, you, Commander Li, will be General Li. All the officers and men of the Navy Division were promoted to one level in rank. Of course, if there are special combat merits, the General Staff can consider them at its discretion, and it is not impossible to promote them to two ranks. ”

Faced with this unexpected surprise in front of him, Li Xinlong's face, which was still tired just now, was directly covered with excitement. Then, he replied excitedly: "Xie Dashuai, on behalf of all the officers and men of the Navy Fleet, the last general assures the Marshal that he will be loyal to the Marshal to the death and live up to the Marshal's high hopes for my Navy Fleet......

After it was over, the expression on Li Xinlong's face was suddenly covered by Yan Sù.

After taking a deep breath, he reported in a heavy tone: "Dashuai, although we have won this naval battle. However, our 1st Naval Division fleet also paid a lot of losses. ”

"During the entire engagement, a total of six warships were hit by flowering bullets fired by the imperial court. Two of the warships were directly destroyed and died in the sea. One of the warships was badly damaged and could not go to sea for a short time. As for the remaining three ships, after being repaired overnight, they did not affect the battle. ”

"Therefore, in tomorrow's escort, our naval fleet can only dispatch seventeen warships."

Faced with this result, Wei Zheng did not show the slightest expression of worry on his face. Instead, he smiled and encouraged: "Seventeen warships, enough...... Ben Shuai believes that after the naval battle that has just ended, the dozens of imperial warships that escaped from the battlefield by luck no longer have the courage to come and intercept us. Therefore, Ben Shuai is very relieved about this sea route to reinforce Liaodong......"

After getting Wei Zheng's affirmation, Li Xinlong's nervous heart suddenly relaxed a lot.

Under Wei Zheng's gaze, he continued to report: "Marshal, there is still a problem here for the last general...... According to statistics, a total of 189 officers and men of the First Fleet were killed in this naval battle, and 25 officers and men were seriously injured and had to withdraw from the Haw Par Army. The last general hopes that the marshal will bury these brothers. ”

Wei Zheng replied without thinking about it: "General Li, are you worried that this marshal will favor one over the other when dealing with the army and the navy...... Here, Ben Shuai can tell you for sure that Ben Shuai will not ...... Whether it is the musketeers, the cavalry, or even you sailor brothers, they are all soldiers of my Tiger and Leopard Army, and my Wei Zheng will treat them equally. ”

"As for those brothers who are killed and seriously injured in battle, the commander will order the general staff to pay compensation and compensation according to the standards of the infantry, and ensure that no brother will suffer losses and let one brother have worries on the battlefield."

Hearing this marriage, Li Xinlong's face immediately showed an expression full of emotion.

Because, in this era of heavy infantry, it is rare for a person to take the sailor so seriously.

After taking a deep breath, Li Xinlong directly replied loudly with an expression of the death of a soldier who is a confidant: "Dashuai, the last general is here, once again on behalf of all the brothers in the fleet, thank you for your love......

Wei Zheng waved his hand, with a smile on his face, and continued: "How about it, General Li, what else do you want, while Ben Shuai is here now, just mention it...... As long as Ben Shuai can do it, Ben Shuai will definitely do it. ”

Li Xinlong replied with an embarrassed face: "Dashuai, the last general does have another request here......

"During the battle, in order to boost morale, the general gave a promise to the soldiers participating in the battle without the permission of the commander. As long as the imperial court sailors are defeated, all the soldiers participating in the battle will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver......"

Speaking of this, Li Xinlong, who was afraid of causing Wei Zheng's dissatisfaction, hurriedly added.

"Of course, Marshal, this is all a decision made by the last general on his own. If the commander disagrees, the last general will believe it, and the brothers will not say anything more. After all, the marshal has already promoted all his brothers to the rank of one rank. The Admiral believed that the brothers would be more willing to raise their ranks than a reward of one hundred taels of silver......"

Facing Li Xinlong, who instantly became restrained in front of him, Wei Zheng waved his hand directly and said.

"Who told you that Ben Shuai didn't agree. The promotion of military ranks is an affirmation of the achievements of the soldiers in this battle. As for a hundred taels of silver, it is to fulfill your promise on the battlefield. If you can't even fulfill your promises, from now on, how will you lead the troops, and what prestige will you have?"

"Isn't it just 200,000 taels of silver, this handsome man came out. In addition, in addition to 200,000 taels of silver, the commander will give you another 100,000 taels of silver to improve the food ...... the soldiers" (to be continued......