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For several months, the war on the southeast coast intensified.

Under the fierce attack of the 10,000 army led by Han Xiu, the enemy retreated to Taipa Island on Dahengqin Island, so that the army could only sigh with admiration.

The East China Sea Fleet and the North Sea Fleet gathered all their warships and fought more than ten battles with the combined fleet led by the Dutch, but they were unable to achieve a decisive victory.

The enemy was very cunning, and had begun to avoid a head-on battle with the Great Qin Royal Navy as much as possible, but continued to lead the Royal Navy into circles at sea; Then he sent some warships to attack various places along the coast, which not only exhausted the navy, but even Han Xiu's army had to divide troops everywhere to defend, which was very passive.

Neither the navy nor the army can afford the tremendous political pressure of the coastal states and counties being breached. Now many villages along the coast have been raided and plundered, which has made the navy and army anxious.

This time, the dignity of the navy, and even the dignity of Daqin, was challenged by Yan.

The arrival of a typhoon a few days ago made the Qin army's offensive plan have to be delayed. This makes everyone very impatient.

The South China Sea Fleet fought all the way back to the coast of Guangdong from Luzon and the enemy, and both the warships and soldiers suffered great losses, so half of the North Sea Fleet was asked to go over to support.

In order to prevent the enemy's attacks on the coastal prefectures and counties, Gu Rong and his three fleets were divided into two, with Gu Rong using Kowloon Bay (Hong Kong) as a temporary anchorage and Zheng Sihai taking Leizhou Bay as an anchorage, and Macao was divided on both sides, so as to prevent the enemy from expanding the battle line as much as possible.

After many naval battles, there were still 32 gunboats on Gu Rong's side, and 130 small and medium-sized bluff boats, eagle boats, and sand boats. Zheng Sihai had 22 gunboats and 98 small and medium-sized warships.

The combined fleets of the Netherlands, Britain, Portugal, Sulu, Boni, and Jiaozhi Zheng still have 14,800 remaining troops, 41 large warships, and about 360 small and medium-sized warships, mainly small ships of Sulu, Boni, and Jiaozhi Zheng. Not equipped with artillery.

However, one thing should not be overlooked, most of the gunboats of the Qin army were equipped with 22 guns, while the large warships of the Westerners usually had more than 40 guns per ship.

In the case of the small difference in the number of gunboats, the number of artillery of the Qin army was actually more than half less.

However, the bluffing boats, eagle ships, and sand ships of the Qin army were much larger than the small ships of Sulu, Boni, and Zheng, and their weapons and equipment were not of the same level; Therefore, although the number of ships is less than 100, if it is fought alone, it has an overwhelming advantage. However, solo battles are only ideal, and in reality it is almost impossible to happen.

In the harbor of Taipa Island, hundreds of warships of the Combined Fleet are dotted around, and the sea breeze blows in the vast Pacific Ocean. Day and night blow the land, the tide constantly laps the shore, and the waves splash.

Seeing that the typhoon that had been raging for three days was about to pass, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Calant, hurriedly convened an operational meeting, which was attended by his subordinates McCows, Wilson, Governor Vahiki of Portugal and Macao, military commanders Carres and Jadir, British Admiral Nadal, General Clauswell, Sulu General Sanyanli, General Bao Luo, and Zheng Weixing, the commander of the Zheng clan in Jiao.

Callant first said: "After the continuous attacks on the coast some time ago, as expected, the fleet of the Qin State was forced to split in two. Defend Kowloon Bay and Leizhou Bay. The effect we wanted has been achieved, and now it is time to take advantage of the dispersion of the enemy's forces and annihilation of each one. ”

Jadir said, "Your Excellency, Commander. From what I know about the Qin navy, I believe they are seeking a decisive battle with us. Because their Emperor was a proud man, and the war dragged on for a long time, one would make their emperor very angry. Qin's navy, under strong pressure, believed that it would soon be forced to attack our harbor, and we could rest at ease. Wait for the other party to come to the door and then hit them hard. ”

Portugal is a small country, and now it seems like an orphan in Europe.

After they broke away from Spain, they sought the acceptance of France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, but they never succeeded, especially the Netherlands and Great Britain, and they also wanted to take the opportunity to annex Portugal's overseas colonies.

This time, Portugal was able to join the combined fleet of the Netherlands and Great Britain, which was tantamount to joining one of the two major ruling blocs in Europe, which Portugal dreamed of.

But they were not willing to give up Macau, which had been in operation for a hundred years, so Jia Dier proposed such a proposal.

Callant said: "Captain Jadir, although I have not taught in the Qin Naval Academy like you, but from an objective point of view, we can know that if the war drags on for a long time, the Qin Navy will certainly be under great pressure, but it will be even more unfavorable to us;

There will soon be a shortage of our supplies, the Qin army is so large, their troops will be continuously transferred, warships will be launched in a steady stream, and the strength will become stronger and stronger, so we can't drag it out for a long time.

For us, sea supremacy is the most important thing, and as long as we have sea supremacy, we can force Qin to make compromises. And in order to grasp the sea dominance, it is necessary to annihilate the fleet of the Qin State first. Now that the Qin navy wants to seek a decisive battle with our army, we can just take advantage of their eagerness to fight and break through each one. ”

The British had eight warships in the battle this time, and had already lost one, and according to the agreement, their war dividend was to share the southern part of Luzon as a colony, but this had to be defeated by the Qin State before this dividend could be obtained. They were in favor of Calant's plan to defeat the Qin navy and force the Qin to compromise.

As for the three parties of Sulu, Boni, and Zheng, although they have the majority of troops, they are backward in weapons and do not have much to say.

Nadal asked, "Your Excellency, what specific battle plan do you have?" ”

Karant said: "Now that Qin's coastal waters in Fujian and Zhejiang are empty, and they are relatively close to Nanjing, if our army goes north to attack these places, the Qin State will definitely panic, and the pressure on the Qin Navy will be greater."

Now Qin's navy is divided into two, Gu Rong is in Kowloon Bay in the east, and Zheng Sihai is in Leizhou Bay in the west, and our goal is to annihilate the enemy in Kowloon Bay in the east first.

Now please ask Captain Jadir to lead a detachment to attack Yangjiang to the west and drag Zheng Sihai back. I led the main force north, and Gu Rong was worried that if we attacked the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang, he would definitely go all out to encircle and intercept us. I will lead him all the way north, and when I am far away from Zheng Sihai, I will annihilate him with all my might. ”

Nadal immediately said: "Your Excellency, this is really a good plan, I fully agree with it. ”

Carres, Jadir and others did not raise any objections, so Calant immediately ordered Jadir to be the commander of the detachment, leading 4 grape warships and 60 Sulu warships to set off to attack Yangjiang and be responsible for dragging Zheng Sihai.

Callant led the main force, with 37 large gunboats and 300 small warships, to the north.

These days, both sides were in a state of first-class combat readiness, and as soon as Calant's order was given, the huge fleet in the harbor soon raised its sails and sailed out of the harbor.

In the waters off Macao, there were always reconnaissance ships of the Qin army watching, and as soon as the enemy's combined fleet left the port, it was immediately discovered, and the reconnaissance ships desperately rushed back to Kowloon Bay to report to Gu Rong.

The distance from Macao to Kowloon Bay (Hong Kong) is about 150 miles, and it takes about five hours to cross the Lingding Ocean and return to Kowloon Bay at a speed of about seven knots for a reconnaissance ship.

Callant had no intention of concealing his movements, and as soon as he left the port with a huge fleet, he headed around the direction of Lendin Island, and sailed all the way north.

At noon, Gu Rong and Zhang Mingzhen did not dare to wait for a moment after receiving the letter, and immediately ordered the fleet anchored in Kowloon Bay to set sail and sail to the open sea.

Gu Rong may not have realized that this time they will face a bloody decisive battle, but they are preparing for a decisive battle all the time.

The storm of the previous two days had just ended, and the wind was still strong at sea, and 32 gunboats and 130 small and medium-sized bluff boats, eagle boats, and sand boats of all kinds sailed with the wind and cut through the waves.

The small ship in charge of reconnaissance constantly transmitted back the whereabouts of the enemy fleet, and one of the urgent messages from the land made Gu Rong and Zhang Mingzhen very happy. A fleet personally led by the Grand Governor of the Navy, Di Zhongxing, was heading south.

"Great!" Gu Rong clapped his fists and shouted, "The time for a decisive battle has come!" ”

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PS: Clothed in a quilt, struggling to get up and code out this chapter, my brain is dizzy, and it's so hard, but it's finally out, please support a little recommendation vote. (To be continued......)