Diqin Designer

Chapter 467 The Qin Navy: A Small Test of Strength

Because they were still far away, the people in the water village did not notice the Qin warships and were completely unaware that a fleet was approaching from the sea.

This is the advantage of having a telescope: it allows you to spot the enemy before they even notice you, giving your side the initiative on the battlefield.

The lookout quickly relayed the news: A water fortress has been discovered ahead, suspected to be related to nobles from the six kingdoms. Requesting instructions!
While relaying messages back to the rear fleet, the four warships Zhenguo, Anbang, Jishi, and Fenwu continued their journey toward the two small boats without stopping.

On the flagship at the rear, when news came back asking him to give instructions, Meng Tian showed no impatience. As the saying goes, "Military tactics are like water, which has no constant shape. One who can adapt to the enemy's changes and win is called a god." The battlefield situation is ever-changing. As the commander-in-chief, one must make the right adjustments according to the changes in the situation, rather than simply following an order to the death.

After a moment's thought, Meng Tian ordered, "After capturing those two ships, do not act rashly. Wait for me to arrive before making a decision!"

At this time, you must not rush. If you discover that it may be a water fortress built by nobles of the six kingdoms, you should not rush over. You must remain calm and composed.

On the sea, the people on the two small boats rowed desperately, but they couldn't increase the distance between themselves and the four warships, Zhenguo and Fenwu. They could only watch as the four large ships got closer and closer to them.

The four warships, including the Fenwu, were all equipped with cannons, and at the current distance, they could attack the enemy with cannons. However, in order to capture the people on the small boat alive, they did not choose to fire.

The people on both ships nervously gripped their weapons, which were the only things that gave them any peace of mind. But looking at the weapons in their hands and the four large ships that were menacingly approaching them, they wondered what threat these things could pose to these four behemoths.
These four large ships could easily wreck their boat by ramming it; the two sides are simply not in the same league.

The people on the two ships noticed that someone on the four large ships was waving something at them. Upon closer inspection, they realized that it was a flag, seemingly trying to convey something to them.

On one of the boats, a man asked, "Brother, what are these people doing? Are they trying to make us stop?"

The others on the ship looked at the "eldest brother" who had been questioned. The eldest brother glanced at the people on the four ships waving flags and shouting at them, and said in a deep voice, "These people are definitely Qin people. Whether they want us to stop or not, we cannot give in to them. Otherwise, not only will we be punished, but our families will also be implicated..."

Upon hearing their elder brother's words, everyone on the ship changed their expressions. There was hatred, anger, resentment, and fear. They had been defeated by those people who had crossed the sea. To save their own lives and those of their families, they had no choice but to obey those people and be enslaved by them.

If they disobeyed, they would be punished. The cruel punishments included being torn apart by five beasts, being cut in half at the waist, and being crucified. They had seen these punishments many times in the past two years, and no one wanted to suffer the same fate as their family.

The lookout on the Fenwu noticed a change in the expressions of the people on board. They realized that four Qin warships were waving flags and shouting at them. They were talking about something, most likely the purpose of the flag-waving and shouting, but after a person who seemed to be the leader said something, the expressions of the people on the ship changed and they fell silent. It was very likely that they wanted to confront Qin!
The lookout quickly warned: Everyone get ready! The enemy is very likely not to accept our goodwill and will put up a stubborn resistance. Prepare to annihilate them!

After the warning was issued, the naval officers who were waving flags and shouting at the two ships all stopped, and the cannons on the four warships began to be loaded.

They preferred that Qin fire the first shot rather than let the other side gain an advantage. The people on the two ships noticed that the people on the four large ships had stopped waving flags and shouting at them. They guessed that these people, who were suspected to be from Qin, were going to take other measures against them when they stopped sailing and instead continued to run. They were likely going to launch an attack on them, so they became even more nervous and vigilant.

They simply didn't know how these people, suspected to be from Qin, would launch an attack. Although the two sides were approaching, there was still some distance between them, a distance from which arrows would be difficult to hit effectively.

They did notice the dark pipes protruding from the hulls of the four large ships, but they didn't pay much attention to them, assuming they were just some kind of decoration or component on the Qin ships, and didn't think of them as long-range attack weapons.

These indigenous people from Liuqiu Island have never left the island since birth. If it weren't for the former nobles of the six kingdoms crossing the sea, they wouldn't even know much about the Qin Kingdom, let alone artillery. They had absolutely no concept of artillery.

Leaving them aside, the nobles of the six kingdoms who fled to Liuqiu Island were unaware that Qin had already acquired artillery as a weapon. Qin of today was not the same Qin as it was two years ago.

The foreigners on both ships were on high alert, their eyes fixed intently on the Zhenguo, Anbang, Jishi, and Fenwu ships, preparing for any possible attack from the four large vessels. They didn't dare to blink.

They did indeed see the attack launched by the four large ships. They saw fire shooting out from pipes extending from the hulls of the four ships, and something was being fired at them from the pipes. The sound of thunder echoed across the sea.

So what if they saw and heard it? They had no idea what the Qin people had done, let alone how to defend themselves!

The barbarians on the two ships were both shocked and terrified. What had the Qin people on the four large ships done to make such a thunderous sound? Had the Qin people summoned the gods for help?
There was no time for them to think or guess. Something landed on the sea dozens of meters behind them, and water immediately splashed up high where the column of water had been. Then, more water columns splashed up nearby, clearly caused by an attack launched by the Qin people.

The barbarians on the two ships couldn't understand what kind of attack the Qin people had launched. However, they knew one thing: if they were hit by the Qin attack, their two small boats would definitely not be able to withstand it.

The barbarians on the ship rowed even more desperately, hoping to escape the Qin people's attack, but the first wave of attacks failed to determine the location well. The naval artillery on the four warships, Zhenguo and Fenwu, quickly adjusted and launched a second wave of attacks.

The cannons of the four warships fired, the "boom, boom, boom" sound like thunder, which could be heard even by the people in the distant water fortress. Many people in the water fortress looked north in confusion: Thunder? But the weather doesn't look like it's going to rain, and there's no lightning, so why is the thunder still going on?
Although the thunder sounded strange, the people in the water village did not associate it with the Qin people. No one thought that the Qin people could control the power of thunder; they just thought that today's thunder was unusual.

After the first round of shelling, the accuracy of the second round of shelling improved significantly. A shell hit a small boat. Although it was a solid shot, its power was still considerable. Screams rang out, and wood chips and human flesh flew everywhere.

Not only were the people on the ship injured by cannonballs, but the small boat itself was also punched through a hole, and seawater rushed in from the hole. The barbarians on the ship were in chaos, never expecting that the Qin people's attack could destroy the boat.

Seeing that the hole in the ship was difficult to plug and the Qin attacks continued relentlessly, the surviving barbarians on board quickly jumped into the sea. Another ship followed suit, struck by cannonballs and ripped open, its barbarians also jumping into the sea. But jumping into the sea didn't guarantee survival. Sprays of water splattered on the surface, and screams could be heard intermittently, but these screams were fleeting, as those hit by cannonballs sank into the sea, unable to utter further cries.

Hearing the screams coming from nearby and smelling the salty stench of human blood in the seawater, the barbarians soaking in the seawater were filled with despair, fearing that they would not survive today.

But after a while, the surviving barbarians noticed that the thunderous sound gradually stopped and never came again. Had the Qin attack stopped? Had they survived?

When they looked toward the four large ships, their hearts sank. They saw that the four large ships were approaching them. But this time they could not escape. Their ships had been sunk by the Qin people. Did they have to swim over these four large ships?

As the four large ships approached, the barbarians gradually saw their true forms. Each ship was quite large, especially the last one, which resembled a small mountain sailing on the sea, with several thick, tall poles supporting its enormous sails.

The barbarians had never seen such a large ship before; it was even larger than the ship sailed by the group of people who had crossed the sea!

As the four large ships approached, the barbarians were tense and uneasy. They knew they couldn't escape and didn't know how the people on the four ships would treat them.

However, the people on the four large ships did not continue the attack that made the sound of thunder, probably because they were thinking of sparing their lives. But sometimes living is not necessarily better than dying, especially since the people on the ships were very likely the legendary Qin people!
According to the group of people who crossed the sea and claimed to be from Zhao, Qi, and Chu, the people of Qin were all man-eating tigers and wolves, extremely cunning and cruel. They learned the methods of dismemberment, waist-cutting, crucifixion, and cutting off noses and legs from the Qin people.

In their eyes, the group of people who crossed the sea were already quite ferocious, but they never expected that the ferocity of the Qin people was even greater than that of the group. How cruel must they have been?
Indeed, if the Qin people weren't more ruthless than those people, how could they have defeated them and driven them to their island? It was all because of the Qin people!
Some of the barbarians prayed to their gods, hoping that the people on the ship were not from Qin, otherwise they would be captured alive by Qin and suffer unimaginable cruel punishment.

As the four large ships approached, they lowered their sails and slowed down, casting nets from the ships to catch the foreigners who were soaking in the water like fish. They dragged them onto the ships, where the waiting naval soldiers immediately seized and tied them up.

Only then did everyone on the four warships breathe a sigh of relief. The battle was easy, but everyone had been highly focused.

This was the first battle after the Qin Dynasty established its navy. Although it might not be considered a formal battle, as it was too small in scale, with four warships chasing two small scout boats that were not even in the same class, it was still the first battle, and everyone wanted to do well and not make any mistakes.

The four warships sent a message back to the fleet: Mission accomplished!

Soon after, the main fleet arrived, and the captured barbarians were transported by small boat to Meng Tian's flagship.

Meng Tian walked a short distance away from the group, glanced at the bound men, and asked in polite language, "Are you all from the island of Liuqiu?"

Seeing that the barbarians looked blank when he asked them questions, Meng Tian asked them in several languages, including Qin, Chu, and Qi, but they still looked confused.

Meng Tian sighed, “What you say is absolutely right, my lord. ‘The greatest distance in the world is when you stand in front of me and I say something, but you don’t understand.’ Language barriers are the biggest obstacle to communication. It is a great deed for Great Qin to establish a common language for the world!”

The few surviving barbarians were already terrified, and hearing Meng Tian sigh made them even more frightened. Their legs trembled, but unfortunately, they could not escape.

It's been confirmed that these people are the legendary Qin people. Moreover, the Qin people didn't just send four large ships this time, but more than twenty large ships, including as many as four of those mountain-sized ships.

The man before them must be the Qin general who led this group of Qin people. He was a ruthless and merciless killer. The general's sigh clearly indicated their dissatisfaction with the reaction.

Fearing execution by Meng Tian, ​​a barbarian tried to save himself by speaking rapidly to Meng Tian. Unfortunately, all he could utter was a string of gibberish, a language Meng Tian could not understand.

Realizing that Meng Tian also couldn't understand them, the barbarian's voice trailed off, his expression filled with despair. How could they communicate when they couldn't even understand each other's language?

In fact, the group had heard several languages, including Ya Yan and Chu Yu. These were the languages ​​spoken by the people who crossed the sea, but they were not taught by those people. Only a few people in the tribe were allowed to learn them, while ordinary people like them were strictly forbidden from doing so. How could they possibly understand them?

Meng Tian said, "Their language is somewhat similar to that of the Baiyue tribes, but also quite different. You must have a significant connection with the Baiyue people. We won't get much information out of them. Take them away and keep a close watch on them."

Now is not the time to study these barbarians carefully; there are more important things to do. Meng Tian took the binoculars from his personal guard and looked ahead. He saw a sizable water fortress at the junction of the sea and land in the distance.

He was very familiar with the style of this water fortress; the Chu navy had set up camp in this way, but unfortunately, the Chu navy perished with the fall of the Chu state.

"I never expected to see traces of the former Chu Kingdom's naval forces on Ryukyu Island. Fate is truly wondrous. If I hadn't joined the navy, I might never have encountered this scene!"

The purpose of building this water fortress was definitely to defend against the Qin Dynasty, but why was it built here instead of somewhere else?

As Meng Tian observed the water fortress, he commented, "The person who built this water fortress was also a capable man. He knew that if the Qin Dynasty came to Liuqiu, they would come from the north. And north of Liuqiu Island, this place is more suitable as a port and landing point, making it a strategic location!"

(End of this chapter)