Guo Zhiyuan was also shocked when he heard the news of the arrival of the Spanish fleet, although he had already thought that his move of issuing new coins and fighting a currency war with Spain was likely to anger the Spaniards, but he didn't expect the Spaniards to react so fiercely that they actually sent a fleet directly to the door!

However, Guo Zhiyuan knew that he must not panic at this time, thought about it calmly, and directly ordered: "Order, all new warships are launched, and all merchant ships are mobilized, equipped with artillery, converted into armed warships, and the whole army is dispatched to intercept the Spanish fleet!" ……”

Xu Guangqi and the others were stunned, Guo Zhiyuan was going to make a desperate bet! hurriedly admonished: "My lord, don't do it! Our Eastern Naval Division has not been formed for a long time, and it has not yet formed combat effectiveness, so it is difficult to have a chance of winning such a hasty battle with the Spaniards, who are strong in ships and guns! ……”

Even Shen Yourong, who was never afraid of war and dared to enter the Dutch military camp alone, frowned, stood up and objected: "My lord, I'm afraid this move is a little inappropriate, although the last general has never fought with the Spaniards, but the last general has seen the Dutch fleet, and the combat power is indeed far better than my Ming warship, I heard that the Spanish warship is better than the Dutch warship, the enemy is strong and I am weak, if it is a head-on battle with it at sea, it is really a good policy, only relying on the land, and dealing with it, is the best policy!" ……”

Guo Zhiyuan waved his hand and smiled lightly: "Don't worry, this battle can't be fought!" If the Spaniards really wanted to fight me, how could they have made such a big deal and given me plenty of time to prepare? They just want to use the threat of force to force me to sign the alliance under the city, the more this is the more I can't show weakness, it's better to put up a position with them, compare the momentum, it's nothing more than a show of muscles, who wouldn't! ……”

Xu Guangqi and the others looked at each other, their faces were unabated, although Guo Zhiyuan's analysis made a little sense, but who can say for sure that there is such a thing as a war, in case of wiping. What to do if the gun goes off? However, Guo Zhiyuan had made up his mind, and they couldn't say anything more, so they could only arrange it according to Guo Zhiyuan's instructions.

Compared with Xu Guangqi and them, the soldiers of the New Army do not have so many worries about them, and they have formed an almost blind worship of Guo Zhiyuan over the years, believing that as long as they are under the leadership of Guo Zhiyuan, they will not have a battle that they cannot win, so Guo Zhiyuan's mobilization order, the entire New Army was immediately high-spirited and began to actively prepare for war!

In order to show off his muscles, Guo Zhiyuan also fought hard, not only pulled out all the only more than 20 new warships, but also temporarily converted all the merchant ships into armed ships, fortunately, most of these merchant ships were captured in the previous battle of the Eastern Tibetan Pirate Alliance, which was originally an armed ship, and it was easy to refit it, just pull a few cannons up, originally Guo Zhiyuan was not ready to let these ships go to the battlefield again, and all of them were eliminated and used as merchant ships, and now in order to show their muscles to the Spaniards, these ships had to be pulled out again to make up the number.

In this way, the fleet pulled out by Dongfan this time also has nearly 100 ships, and it seems that the momentum is a bit bluffing, but to say that the combat effectiveness is a little unsatisfactory, and the three thousand-stone flagships that can really pose a threat to the Spanish warships are the three thousand-stone flagships, and the others may only be used as cannon fodder.

In order to grasp the movements of the Spanish fleet, Guo Zhiyuan also sent dozens of Cangshan ships to investigate, and soon received a message from the reconnaissance ship's flying pigeons, knowing the direction of the Spanish fleet's route, Guo Zhiyuan waved his hand and ordered the fleet to take the initiative to meet it and intercept the Spanish fleet outside the Dongfan Sea!

Soon the two fleets met on the sea near the Dongbo Sea, seeing the fierce Spanish fleet from a distance, even the high-spirited soldiers of the New Army were a little discolored, the reputation of the Spanish warship mainly lies in its huge hull and carrying capacity, very oppressive, its most significant feature is the towering bow and stern deck, when the two ships are stuck side by side in the war, its advantage is that it can easily board the enemy ship, and its scary castle-like shape also plays a role in the psychological deterrence of the enemy.

This Spanish fleet is all composed of Spanish galleons, with a tonnage of more than 500 tons, and the firepower on it is also very strong, with more than 20 large-caliber cannon heavy guns, and more than 20 small-caliber falcon guns.

In contrast, the warships on the Dongfan side are much inferior, except for the three Qianshi-class flagships, the other warships are inconspicuous and small compared with the huge Spanish warships, and the firepower configuration is even worse, only three Qianshi-class flagships are equipped with more than 50 guns, and the rest of the new warships are equipped with only more than 10 guns, as for those temporarily modified armed ships, there are only a few guns, such a big firepower gap even the soldiers of the New Army who are not afraid of death feel bottomless.

Except for Guo Zhiyuan, only Francis, an arrogant guy, didn't take the powerful Spanish fleet in his eyes, he held a wine bottle in one hand, poured it hard, looked at the surging Spanish fleet with contempt, and sneered: "The Spanish bullfighters are old, and our British Empire's fleet beat them all over the ground in the English Channel, and they are actually embarrassed to claim the invincible armada?!" ……”

Francis's love of drinking is that he has been taught repeatedly, Guo Zhiyuan can't do anything about him, and finally he is specially allowed to drink when he is commanding, as long as he doesn't get drunk, and now Francis is the chief instructor and artillery commander of the Dongfan Navy, because he has experience in fighting with the Spanish fleet, Guo Zhiyuan specially took him with him.

Glancing at Francis, who was full of rebelliousness, Guo Zhiyuan felt for the first time that this guy was so pleasing to the eye, at this time, a rebellious commander is undoubtedly conducive to improving the morale of the fleet, otherwise the battle has not yet started, the commander will be instigated, and this battle will naturally be lost. He patted Francis on the shoulder appreciatively and laughed, "Well said! Francis, I'll give you the command! ”

The only thing Francis feared in Dongfan was Guo Zhiyuan and Fa Zheng, and he was a little flattered and hurriedly bowed down and said: "There are adults here, how dare I go beyond that generational cook...... This guy has been in Dongfan for so long, and he can already speak fluent Chinese, and he likes to drag a few idioms from time to time.

Guo Zhiyuan laughed and said: "It's Yue Ku's substitute chef, it's okay, I believe in you!" You are the connoisseur of naval warfare, whether you can do a good job this time depends on whether you are a good cook, you just have to give the order! ……”

Francis is not a guy who knows how to be modest, and when he received Guo Zhiyuan's appreciation, he suddenly trembled, and ordered loudly with his head held high: "The flagship raises the flag!" Flag Slogan! Tell the ship on the opposite side that they are about to enter the Dongfan Sea and stop advancing immediately, otherwise it will be regarded as a provocation to sovereignty, and we will open fire! ……”

(PS: It's rare to get together for the Mid-Autumn Festival on the National Day, and it must be inevitable to visit relatives and friends, I'm afraid that there will be no time to send updates in the morning, so send it out earlier, and I wish you a happy holiday and a happy family!) ）