The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 329: Landing Day (Thanks to the cowardly and heroic Governor Daming for the reward!)
On the top of the third-deck flagship "Feilong", Ping Liaohou held up a telescope and looked at the fleet of four countries five miles away.

The chilly sea breeze cut across his head like a knife, almost lifting the brim of his wide, azure navy hat several times.

Liu Zhaosun habitually pressed down the brim of his hat, and his handsome but weathered face was hidden in a burst of rapid breathing, and there was no visible change in his facial expression.

"It's a pleasure to have friends from afar. You Saxon bastards, today I'll show you the might of the Kaiyuan Army! Come!"

Liu Zhaosun roared and raised his middle finger towards the enemy fleet from a towering watchtower.

Then he calmly climbed down the lookout pole and returned to the deck of the battleship.

Before he even touched the ground, Pei Dahu led the central army guards to rush over. The guards raised long banners to protect Ping Liaohou in the center, and looked vigilantly at the rapidly approaching Galen ship five miles away.

Liu Zhaosun did not stop the guards' meaningless defense.

The wooden shield has no defensive effect against naval guns. In the face of iron balls weighing more than ten pounds, even an iron door will be directly shattered, no different from a piece of white paper.

Of course, the long cards can block flying wood chips, and most importantly, they can give people a sense of psychological security.

The time traveler thought of the mother and daughter who were chased by a helicopter in "1984". The mother stubbornly used her arms to protect her daughter, trying to block the machine gun fire.

"War is peace, and death is eternal life."

Ping Liaohou muttered to himself and loudly ordered Pei Dahu to raise his general's flag.

Pei Dahu stood still and said hesitantly:
"Lord Liu, the Red Haired Barbarians' artillery is extremely accurate. They were able to hit the bird boat with one shot just now. If you raise the flag, you will probably become their target."

Ping Liao Hou disagreed and said:

"I want the Red-haired Barbarians to chase us and fight. Just now, Wang Congzhi led his artillery in a surprise attack, sinking three of their warships with just a few shots. The Red-haired Barbarians are terrified and scared! They are now considering whether to continue fighting us."

"This is my territory. Those bastards treat it like a market. They come and go as they please. It's not that easy. If we let them get away like this, other bandits will think we're easy to bully, and there will be more trouble in the future."

"so."

Liu Zhaosun paused for a moment and patted Pei Dahu on the shoulder.

"I'll be the bait, luring them into a full-scale attack! Then I'll cover them with rockets and burn them to death! Besides, the presence of the flag will boost the morale of the entire army!"

Pei Dahu looked solemn:
"But this is too dangerous. Lord Liu should not stay outside on the deck."

"Live towards death. If you're afraid, go down and help the helmsman row! We're in need of help over there!"

"What have I ever been afraid of?"

Pei Dahu gritted his teeth and ordered the guards to raise the flag.

The head of the servants had been with Liu Zhaosun the longest and knew his temper. Once he made a decision, he would never turn back, even if it meant getting beaten to a bloody pulp. When fighting, he would fight for his life and was not afraid of death at all. In the past, he dared to charge into the 6,000-strong formation of the Jiannu army with only 300 cavalrymen.

"Only in this way can we defeat the Jiannu and achieve great things!"

Pei Dahu remembered Liu Jing's last words to him and comforted himself.

Wu Ahheng brought Meng Jinbao up from the second deck and saw Ping Liaohou sitting upright under the big flag. He was surprised and said:
"Marquis Ping Liao, be careful of the red-haired barbarians' cannonballs!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at his two subordinates and found that beads of sweat were still on their faces. He imagined how busy the gunners on the second floor were.

"I am here to boost morale and let the soldiers know that I am always here."

"Hurry up and fight the enemy! Let these barbarians know that the Chinese Navy cannot be bullied!"

The two naval officers looked at each other, knowing that persuasion would not work, so they had to obey the order and leave.

Just as he finished speaking, a cannonball grazed the Feilong's port side, passed across the deck, and flew over ten feet above the Ping Liaohou's banner.

The iron ball finally fell into the sea, splashing a huge splash of water on the sea surface, and the splashing water soaked Ping Liao Hou Pei Dahu and others.

Liu Zhaosun touched the brim of his hat to make sure it was still on his head, and said with forced composure:
"The cannon is very accurate!"

The Feilong and the other flat-armored ships immediately launched a counterattack.

Accompanied by a rumbling sound, the hull shook slightly, and the three rows of forty-eight naval guns on the port side roared continuously, pouring a barrage of ten to thirty kilograms of shells onto the heads of the enemy fleet.

The galleon that was in the front was hit by several shells at the same time, but none of them hit the vital parts of the warship. Only the mast was broken. The speed of the warship did not decrease at all, and it was getting closer and closer to the flat-armored ship fleet.

On the sea where white smoke billowed, the four countries' merchant caravans only had the last sixty or so main battleships and more than thirty small-sized Fu ships left. They also formed a column formation, moving quickly while firing at the Kaiyuan army.

The Battle of Tsushima finally entered the final stage of battleship confrontation.

War finally revealed its most brutal face. The Korean turtle ships had already fled, Li Dan's pirates had scattered, the Shimazu pirates had suffered heavy casualties, and those who survived were terrified. Even the Portuguese fleet, considered Ping Liaohou's most reliable ally, had fled.

Fifty-six heavy flat-armored ships against sixty-eight thousand-ton galleons.

The chances of winning cannot be said to be zero, but they are very slim.

Although the firepower of the Kaiyuan flat-armored ships was significantly inferior to that of European battleships, the Kaiyuan navy still advanced forward without any intention of retreating. They began to slow down and, at a distance of four miles, fired at the enemy's giant ships in a column formation.

Ping Liaohou looked at the friendly ships gathered in the distance and said to the messenger:
"Tell Wu Ahheng to take that guy out."

That thing refers to the 22-style Shenhuo Feiya, which is the third-generation combat rocket developed by the workshop at the end of last year. It weighs thirty kilograms, the rocket is four feet long, and is equipped with a twelve-foot-long balance rod. The range can reach six miles.

Compared with the second-generation product, this model is equipped with three inclined stabilizing spiral plates at the tail. When the rocket is launched, the aerodynamic force causes the rocket to rotate itself to achieve stability, greatly improving the hit rate.

Accompanied by a shrill roar of rockets, five rockets slowly rose from the decks of each ship. The rockets flew over the flying artillery fire from both sides and plunged into the oncoming fleet four miles away. The decks of the ships hit by the rockets immediately burned and exploded, and the sailors screamed and put out the fire everywhere.

Both sides' ships were equipped with heavy cannons. The Galen's guns had a slightly better range and power, while the flat-armored ship had the assistance of the Divine Fire Crow and was in the windward position, which offset the disadvantage of insufficient gun firepower.

After several rounds of shooting, both sides suffered damage. Five flat-top ships were damaged and two were sunk, while six galleons were seriously damaged and four were sunk.

Ping Liaohou walked down from the cabin.

The second deck was filled with running figures. Sixteen portholes were opened from the inside, with huge gun muzzles extending outside the ship. The gunners were busy moving the cannons. After each firing, they needed to quickly reload and reposition the cannons.

~~~~~~~
"Didn't you say that dealing with these barbarians would be as easy as a picnic in London? Why did we lose so many ships?"

The obese East India Company director Ruprecht Cohlen grabbed Captain Cromwell.

"Mr. Koren, the enemy has blockaded the northern waters. They've disregarded casualties and are pushing us towards Shallow Bay. Their coastal artillery is much more powerful than we imagined, and the kind of rockets they use aren't even mentioned in the intelligence..."

"Enough! Stop talking nonsense! The fleet is under attack! And you, along with those Spanish mercenaries who only know how to visit Macao brothels and those confused black people, are indifferent and have not yet launched any effective counterattack against the barbarians! I order you to smash the enemy fleet, land in Busan, and take revenge on the Koreans!"

Captain Oreo Cromwell tried to explain:

"Mr. Collen, the fleet is downwind and our gunpowder is almost exhausted. With our current strength, I'm afraid we can't sustain the counterattack you just mentioned, or the bombardment of Busan."

Ruprecht twisted his fat body and howled at the top of his lungs:

"Shut up! The East India Company didn't hire you for such a large sum of money to listen to your excuses!"

“We are powerless.”

Director Koren screamed like a pig being slaughtered, and roared in a thick London accent:

"Fake! You are fired!"

"Manchester country bumpkin, you are fired! You are fired! The East India Company will sue you and you will go to jail!"

Oreo Cromwell's face flushed, and his flushed cheeks quickly blended into his red curly hair.

"Mr. Coren, please don't insult the honor of the British Royal Navy!"

The East India Company director shouted in an undeniable tone:
"You have caused Britain to suffer heavy losses. We have painstakingly assembled a fleet, and now more than half of it has been lost. Britain's trade in the Far East will be devastated and will be set back at least ten years. You have brought shame upon the Royal Navy, and yet you still dare to speak of honor!"

"Don't forget, you are just a retired captain!"

Oreo remained silent, veins bulging on his face.

"We have one last chance to win! Before the East India Company fires you, look!"

Chairman Koren pointed to the cannons still roaring on Tsushima Island.

"Land this damn island, kill all the artillerymen attacking us, and concentrate our forces on their ships!"

Oreo Cromwell raised his telescope and quickly looked at the artillery positions on Tsushima Island. After some assessment, he whispered:

"Mr. Collen, the cannons are on the top of the mountain, and there will be infantry covering them at the bottom. It is estimated that a thousand men will be needed to destroy these cannons."

"I will ask the Dutch and Spanish to assist me and allocate a thousand spearmen and a thousand heavy musketeers. In two hours, I want to see the naval flag erected at the highest point!"

Oreo still had to persuade him, thinking that he might be fired by this fat Londoner at any time, and then sent to the Bombay Military Court for trial, and spend the rest of his life in an Indian prison.

In order to escape this tragic fate, he gritted his teeth and began to assemble the landing team.

(End of this chapter)