If you go outside, you must first settle inside. Now that the interior is settled, it's time to find the enemies lurking outside and destroy them!

Otomo Sorin's team has been sent to protect our safety, so that our men can be freed up to participate in the search for the enemy!

In the past two days, there are still important people from the Hakata Chamber of Commerce who have been attacked, and there is still no trace of the other party. The whole of Hakata, along with the surrounding mountains, was searched three times, and there was still no trace, which made me even more sure that the enemy must be at sea!

Luckily, on the morning of the fourth day, someone from the port came to inform me that Arashi's huge fleet had arrived at Hakata! After receiving my order, she did not land, but resupplied on the spot, ready to go to sea to fight at any time.

When I heard the news, I was overjoyed, and immediately rushed to the port with everyone, and finally saw the inheritance left to me by my second uncle—five converted Galen warships!

This kind of Galen warship belongs to the third-class warship in the current warship classification, and it can definitely be classified as a large warship. According to the division of warships in the Western Ocean, they belong to the capital ship - of course, they can also be called battleships, which are the main force in naval operations.

The five boats are of the same type, 74 meters long, 12 meters wide, and have a displacement of about 1,800 tons. The sail structure is similar to that of the Karak warships of the last century, but with the addition of diagonal sails to the bow, which is a four-masted capsized ship. Double deck, 64 cannons on each side of each deck, 5 bow guns, 8 stern guns, a total of 269 guns!

In addition, the hull is also arranged with nearly 200 musket firing ports and 20 close-range cable crossbow arrows, so to speak, it is completely a battle fortress!

Each ship has a maximum of 620 sailors and a minimum of 110 sailors, all of which are currently configured according to the standard of 240 cruisers, but can be replenished at any time in the face of battle.

The internal structure of the ship is perfect, and all kinds of facilities are reasonable. On the outside, on the basis of the double-layer purple shirt wood deck, the ship's side, deck and other important parts are also covered with wrought copper armor to further enhance the protection. The bow of the ship has increased ramming angles and the bow of the Holy Maiden has been added, and the whole ship looks majestic and has a full sense of oppression!

Although the ship is a large ship, it is not very bulky, and the ultimate speed can reach 21 knots, which can definitely meet the current cruising and combat needs.

A large number of residents of Hakata Port gather on the pier to see these behemoths. It is estimated that the people who see it are also full of mixed feelings, especially those with bad intentions, and most of them are trembling in their hearts when they think of the future shipping trip, and they don't know if they regret their previous decision.

I don't care about this, what I feel is the deep support and expectation of my second uncle! I said silently in my heart: "Second Uncle Ancestor, please believe me, I will definitely fulfill your entrustment, firmly hold Dongying, and strive for more respite for Daming!" ”

Excited to board the ship, Arashi immediately greeted him. I ordered to leave the post immediately, so as not to leak the news and have many dreams at night.

Five Galen, as well as the five previous Ming Dynasty warships, left the port at the same time, and the waves poured onto the dock, and in the screams of the crowd, we slowly left the port, gradually accelerating, and passed away towards the north.

In the captain's room, we gathered in front of the charts to study where to go next. From here, to the west is Katang Island, Mado Island, southwest is Iki Island, these two places have a lot of residents, if they are here, it is estimated that they will soon be discovered, reported to Otomo Sorin, but there is no movement, indicating that they are not here, or at least there is no record of landing in these places! So where will they be? Staring at the charts, I fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, I saw a small black dot on the chart, just north of Hakata, and further north there was an even smaller, densely packed black dot!

I pointed here and asked, "Arashi, what is this place?" ”

Lan looked at the small black dot and thought for a while before saying, "Sir, this is Xiaolu Island, and it is also a place under Hakata's rule, but because it is too small, only a few fishermen will stay on it." Further north, these trails are Xuanjie Beach, which is lined with reefs, which is especially suitable for hiding places! ”

I stared at Xiaolu Island and Xuanjie Beach, silently, and then asked, "How long does it take to drive the boat here?" ”

It was Rodriguez who spoke: "Captain, at the current speed, it will take about an hour for us to reach Xiaolu Island." However, if it is a return trip, because of the headwind, it will take about one hour or three to two hours! ”

I nodded, and in this way, this is the perfect place for the Koga ninjas to hide! They hid here during the day, marched towards Hakata before nightfall, took advantage of the night, and returned to the ship before dawn, and continued to hide in the layers of sea reefs near Koro Island!

I spoke my mind, and Rodriguez and Arashi, who were the most experienced seafarers, thought for a moment and agreed with me that the enemy was probably hiding here.

However, in order not to lose the enemy and miss the possible hiding places of other enemies, I decided to divide the fleet into three teams - the nine ghosts Masataka and Mo, with a Galen and a Fuku-class warship, respectively, to search in the direction of Katang Island, Mado Island, and Iki Island. And I took the remaining six boats in the direction of Koroshima! Regardless of the outcome, after three days, assemble at the Hakata location.

Immediately after the decision, we divided the ships and headed in three directions.

Sitting in the captain's room, I kept thinking, if the enemy was really here, what kind of attitude should we pursue? Since the enemy is a ninja crowd, their water combat power will definitely not be too strong. Their ships serve only one purpose - transportation. Therefore, it is bound to be the kind of small and fast warship, and places like Xiaolu Island and Xuanjie Beach are definitely their favorite, and our large warships are not so easy to get in and out.

Therefore, a straightforward pursuit will definitely not work, and it will be a big mess if you accidentally run aground.

I was discussing with a few men at the chart, but soon the boatswain shouted from the deck, "Captain! I saw Koroshima in front! ”

I gave the order to stop the boat, and the speed of the boat slowly slowed down. Stepping onto the deck, I scanned the island back and forth with my binoculars. It's really small, there is no vegetation on the island, and there are some types of fishing boats coming and going. In some places, you can even see reefs exposed in the sea, which is definitely not friendly to a big ship like us.

In the distance, the Xuanjie Beach is occupied by countless large and small reefs, and I can't see the details inside, but I have a feeling that the enemy's ships are hiding inside!

So I gave the order, lifted anchor, and headed in the northwest direction, that is, in the direction of Nagasaki!

This is a feint, because the other side has not seen our new ships, and our feint gesture can make them pay less attention and think that we are just a passing fleet, so that they will not change the pattern of their movements, and it will be more difficult for us to find the enemy.

The six boats headed for an hour in the direction of Nagasaki in the northwest, and after making sure that they were out of sight, they headed south and returned to their previous position to the south. I decided, divide the troops again! The three large ships will stay on the road that must be passed, and the three Ming Dynasty warships will detour to the north of the Xuanjie Beach from the right side, and if they find the enemy's traces, they will perform the function of driving the enemy away and entering the encirclement!

After thinking about it, I handed over this group of ships to Kite, and asked Rodriguez and Smith to assist her, and as a roundabout detachment, they headed north of the back of Xiaolu Island!

By this time, it was already afternoon, and after watching the flotilla of kites leave, we waited quietly at sea. As long as it is night, we are implementing light and sound control, and in this era when there is no radar and no thermal imaging, our fleet has actually reached a certain sense of stealth! And that's exactly what I need.

When night falls, the sea is still quiet. In the telescope, it was also dark and dreary on the side of Xiaolu Island, without the slightest light.

I know that Koro Island has been developed as a tourist attraction in modern times, but it is still an uninhabitable place.

Hideyoshi Hashiba is really ruthless this time! He knew that I was not easy to deal with, so he began to deal with my subordinates and other important people in the business alliance, which was a ruthless trick to draw salaries from the bottom of the kettle! As long as I undermine the free trade alliance I led the formation, I will lose my logistical support, even if I have a strong sea power, at most it can be regarded as water without a source and a tree without roots, and it will not last long!

Thanks! Fortunately, none of my henchmen were helpless scholars, so I was able to avoid this fatal blow! In the past few years, he has been running a chamber of commerce in Dongying, and he is a big man inside and out, if he doesn't have it, our next business activities will definitely be hit hard! It takes a cycle to find a suitable, reassuring replacement.

And what I'm missing most now is time! The big war is coming, I must first stabilize my foothold and stabilize the rear, so that I can invest manpower, material resources, and financial resources in the front and concentrate on fighting Hashiba Hideyoshi!

And this move of Hideyoshi Hashiba is actually the same as the one I have always used - the purpose of the methods I used against him is not to delay his actions, to drag him down, so that he can't take care of each other, and then fall into chaos?

In the dark, I clenched my fists secretly. After destroying these hidden enemies, the next step is to retaliate with a tooth for a tooth, and before the decisive battle, I will teach Yushiba Hideyoshi a good lesson! I must let him know that on land, I may have a hard time being hostile to him. But at sea, that's my world!

As the minutes ticked by, the sea was still calm. Just as I was a little hesitant to see if I was betting on the wrong place, Rodriguez's voice sounded behind me: "Captain, don't worry! The tide is just starting to rise, and if the enemy is really on the reef, this is the best time to prepare for anchoring! ”

I hummed and asked, "Rodriguez, you seem familiar with this place!" ”

Rodriguez didn't say anything, but quietly walked up to me, grasping the side of the boat with both hands, and silently looked up at the sky. "Back then, I took my wife and children to Hakata, and I arrived in Nagasaki before rushing to Hakata. Passing by here! Shortly before they arrived, the two of them closed their eyes. So over the years, whenever I have time, I'll take a boat back to this water......"

After speaking, he smiled bitterly and sighed heavily.

I didn't know how to comfort him, but after thinking about it, I was just about to speak, when Rodriguez suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "Captain! Look there! They're coming! ”

I hurriedly turned back, and on the sea, about two or three nautical miles away, under the reflection of the rising artillery fire, there were five boats in the front, two and three in the rear, chasing us at great speed!