"See Your Majesty!"

In the Qianqing Palace, in the Ming Dynasty, Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin pushed the gold mountain, poured the jade pillar, shook their armor together, and gave Zhu Youxiao a courtesy.

The two of them had just returned to the capital from Qingdao Port yesterday and came to meet them early this morning.

Both of them knew that His Majesty the Emperor had summoned them for something this time, so they were very excited.

The soldiers have waited too long for this day.

Although in terms of time, more than two months have passed, but for the officers and men of the Royal East Sea Fleet, who have not fought for two months and are training and retraining all day, it really seems like a year.

The current Royal Guards East China Sea Fleet, both in terms of combat effectiveness and the size of the fleet, is no longer what it used to be.

Although because the Ming Empire formed the Royal Third Fleet two months ago: the South China Sea Fleet of the Guards, the number of ships in each fleet was thinned.

However, the number of Leopard cruisers in each royal fleet, as the main battleship, still swelled to fifty-two.

Most of these Leopard cruisers are upgraded versions of the second generation, not only have the unreasonable parts of the ship been upgraded and improved, but also have a main gun.

It was a real rear-loading rifled gun, which was nearly twice as thick and long as the original Shenwei General Cannon, and it was normal for a cannon to hit ten miles away.

According to reliable sources, the production of artillery shells in the Ming Empire, thanks to the efforts of the Royal Academy of Sciences, which cost a lot of money, and the Royal Military Equipment Department, has been upgraded again.

The transformation and upgrading of the production line has also begun, and it will not be long before the real rear-loading shells and cannons will be fully upgraded in the various regiments of the Royal Navy and Army.

All of this is the result of the cooperation between the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Military Equipment, and those masters themselves, Zhu Youxiao did not let the intelligent light brain Xiaohong provide them with any help.

He knew that it would not work to pull out the seedlings to help them grow.

Moreover, he didn't dare to promote his black technology in a big way, let alone apply it to the military field.

With the warning of the craftsman's hammer, Zhu Youxiao didn't dare to mess around at all.

He was afraid of the unknown great change, and he couldn't afford to bear the guilt, and ruined the current good situation of the Ming Empire.

Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin are now full of confidence in the future of the Ming Empire, and they are the kind of invincible belief that they will trample all enemies under their feet.

"Let's be flat."

Zhu Youxiao looked at the two immature little guys in front of him and felt very pleased.

However, because these two people have also been strengthened three times by the craftsman hammer, their physical fitness is strong, and the wind and rain for a long time have not left any traces on their bodies, but they seem more capable and calm.

"You two, take your seats."

Zhu Youxiao pointed to the two large wooden chairs not far in front of him and said to them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" ……

Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin thanked each other in unison, and then came to the big wooden chair and took a seat.

The two of them had straight spines, their eyes did not squint, and a strong military aura involuntarily diffused out.

"Two Aiqing, the biggest crisis and the biggest enemy that is plaguing the empire now are none other than the Westerners on the sea."

Zhu Youxiao was not verbose, and said to the two of them straight to the point, "Among them, the first choice is the Spaniards and Dutch who are entrenched on the north and south ends of Dayuan Island respectively. ”

"Now the Spanish troops in Keelung and Tamsui are only about three or four thousand soldiers, even if you add the local natives and people, you can recruit tens of thousands of people if you die."

"The Spaniards at this time were far less powerful than the Dutch, who occupied the southern part of Dayuan Island."

"Our Royal East China Sea Fleet's expedition across the sea will first gnaw hard bones and wipe out or expel the Dutch who are entrenched in the southwest of Dayuan Island!"

He sat upright on a large gold-lacquered wooden chair, with a thick and inexplicable coercion, domineering emanating in all directions.

Previously, Zhu Youxiao also discussed with Sun Chuanting and the General Staff Department, and then made this decision.

After coming to this time and space for so long, and being in a high position, the Ming Empire has become more and more huge, and the aura of the superior on Zhu Youxiao's body has become stronger and stronger.

Regarding this, although even Zhu Youxiao himself was not aware of it, the people around him felt it very clearly.

Now, except for the queen and the six concubines, getting along with Zhu Youxiao is quite casual.

Even Li Dingguo, Hao Shaoqi and others, who were the first to follow Zhu Youxiao, originally dared to talk and laugh with Zhu Youxiao from time to time, but now, even the tone of the correspondence is becoming more and more respectful.

This is natural, especially in the Han Empire, the popular saying "accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger", is not just talking.

With the various generals of the Royal Guard, everyone is getting older, and their ideas are beginning to increase, and they are paying more and more attention to the rules.

This is normal, otherwise, there would never have been His Majesty the Emperor who claimed to be a "lonely person".

Zhu Youxiao knew very well that the Han Empire had always been a country that valued land and neglected the sea, but this could not be blamed entirely on successive rulers.

After all, for thousands of years, the Han Empire was a self-sufficient agrarian civilization with a lack of understanding and communication about the world outside the sea.

In addition, the Han people do lack a bit of the adventurous spirit of Westerners, so they have always despised things outside the native continent.

But all of this will be fundamentally changed from the Royal Navy's cross-sea expedition six days later!

"Go to the sand table!" Zhu Youxiao snorted.

"Yes! Your Majesty! ”

Outside the Qianqing Palace, a team of female guards of the Imperial City who had been prepared for a long time responded to the promise, and immediately four people walked into the Qianqing Palace and moved a beautiful sand table from the warm pavilion in the rear.

This sand table is not too big, only about one meter square, and it is only a model of the Taiwan Strait and Dayuan Island. 1234

But it's intuitive, giving the illusion of flying in the sky, looking down on the ocean and the earth.

Zhu Youxiao now has the help of Xiaohong, a high-level intelligent light brain, although he will not use it to deal with the enemies of this world, so as not to cause some unknown big changes.

However, it was no problem to make some sand tables and carve some accurate maps.

The information of knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is too important for the current Ming Empire.

Although Zhu Youxiao will not spread these sand tables and various maps, they will be used exclusively for his own reference, and it will not have much impact on this time and space.

Historically, sand tables have been widely used, and it was in the First World War.

In the Han Empire of all dynasties, although there were objects similar to sand tables very early, for various reasons, sand tables were not effectively used.

At this time, military maps were more complicated, so people who read military maps generally needed to go through systematic training before they could understand them.

And the sand table obviously doesn't need it, at a glance, it is clear at a glance.

The current Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin were both very surprised by this, they just took a cursory glance and were very shocked.

All such awesome things?

However, His Majesty the Emperor did not spread this weapon of war, presumably because of some kind of concern.

The current spiritual attributes of the two of them are several times higher than that of ordinary people, and after a little thought, they understand the mystery.

Now the two of them can be said to have never forgotten, secretly glance at each other, and soon remember this magical thing, all the terrain on it, and the best navigation line, firmly in their minds, and will never forget it again.

His Majesty the Emperor may have a bitter intention and don't want to spread it, but since the two of them have this opportunity, it will definitely be of great help to the future war.

made a fortune in a muffled voice, which is what he said was the joy in the hearts of Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin now.

Zhu Youxiao was unaware of the careful thinking of these two people, he didn't care about this, and put his eyes on the sand table in front of him.

On top of the delicate sand table, the fine sand dyed with sky blue pigment stands out as the sea, and the island group on the sea stands out.

Zhu Youxiao stretched out his hand and said, "Two Aiqing, this is the Penghu Islands, and the geographical location is extremely important. ”

"If it is occupied by the enemy, it can harass me in Fujian, and even Guangdong, Zhejiang and other places. Retire, you can retire to the big staff to recuperate! ”

"The Penghu Islands are the gateway to Dayuan Island, and before attacking Dayuan Island, we must first occupy and control the Penghu Islands, so as to avoid the worries of the soldiers and attack Dayuan Island safely."

"Don't look at the miasma of Dayuan, there are many births, but the land of Dayuan Island is fertile, and the miasma is not heavy."

"After completely controlling it, the two basic national policies of the Ming Empire will be promoted, and millions of soldiers and civilians will be self-sufficient on it, and there will be no problem at all!"

"According to the report of the Royal Military Intelligence Bureau, although the entire Penghu Islands are now occupied by some scattered pirates and Dutch, the strength of these Westerners is not more than a thousand, which is not worth mentioning."

"As long as our Royal East China Sea Fleet arrives, it will easily occupy the Penghu Islands without the slightest problem."

Zhu Youxiao explained very calmly, "As for the scattered pirate groups, they can be ignored. ”

"If they don't surrender, they will be killed!"

"Your Majesty means ......"

Zhong Jixiang's gaze turned on these dense sand tables of the Penghu Islands, and he seemed to have guessed the emperor's attack plan.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhong Ji with approval, his eyes returned to the sand table again, and he pointed to the rivers and mountains: "Six days later, after the Royal East China Sea Fleet crosses the sea, the first goal is to take Xiyu in the Penghu Islands first!" ”

Zhong Jixiang and Wu Xilin hurriedly looked at Zhu Youxiao's fingers.

Although there are many Penghu Islands, the three largest islands are all close together, forming a "gate" shape, which is divided into Xiyu, Baisha Island and Penghu Island.

Among them, Xiyu, as the name suggests, is naturally close to the west, and it is also the medium and large island closest to the Fujian sea.

Wu Xilin thought for a while and put forward his opinion: "Your Majesty wants to take Xiyu first, although it is good, but the topography of Xiyu is not very good, and it is not conducive to the advance of the Grand Fleet. ”

"Now it looks like a long twisted worm, and the terrain is narrow. The widest place, according to the minister's estimate, is only about four miles! ”

The four miles in his mouth are wide and not very accurate, but according to the scale of the map, it should be about four and a half miles.

But whether it is four miles or four and a half miles, it shows the narrowness of the terrain of Xiyu.

Zhong Jixiang couldn't help but speak: "Your Majesty, in the first battle across the sea, it's better to take Baisha Island first." ”

"Although Baisha Island is not as big as Xiyu, this island is relatively round and has enough depth, and the situation of the soldiers landing and fighting is much better than that of Xiyu!"

Zhu Youxiao shook his head, pointed his finger around Xiyu, and said, "Can you two see the terrain of Xiyu clearly?" Although Xiyu is like a twisted long worm, Xiyu is high in the east and low in the west. ”

"Isn't this long mountain range like a great wall? It's a natural line of defense! ”

"If you capture Baisha Island first, alarm the enemy, and set up artillery there, it will be very unfavorable for the next landing battle!"

"Moreover, the distance between Xiyu and Baisha Island is only about two or three miles, and the distance between Xiyu and Penghu Island is about ten miles.

"When the time comes, although our royal fleet is not afraid, it will inevitably pay some unnecessary casualties." ……

After the three of them discussed, they finally decided on the time and battle plan for the expedition.

Six days later, the Ming Empire will take the first step in the struggle for sea dominance, and the Royal Guards East China Sea Fleet will swear to the port of Qingdao.

At that time, 52 Leopard cruisers and 200 improved No. 1 Daifuku ships will be dispatched to transport soldiers and logistical supplies.

The 90,000-strong Royal East China Sea Fleet will be led by Zhu Youxiao to expedition to the Penghu Islands and Dayuan Island.