Admiral Deng Shichang ordered the Qin Army's naval division to conduct continuous patrols within two hundred nautical miles of the coast of Qingzhou.

In order to increase the patrol space and density, the three naval detachments were divided into three detachments, each consisting of ten warships.

Each detachment was followed by a supply ship. In addition to the necessary food and fresh water, the supply ships were more than cannonballs, muskets and ammunition, so as to quickly replenish the ammunition and supplies consumed on the battlefield after the battle.

Deng Shichang ordered the naval division to patrol with the detachment as the smallest unit, and the ten detachments patrolled within a radius of about 200 miles near Weihaiwei.

Judging from the data such as the firepower and the tonnage of warships of the Qin State Naval Division, as long as they do not encounter that kind of large-scale enemy naval invasion and only deal with the Japanese invaders, the small detachment composed of ten warships is enough to deal with any possible naval battle, even if it cannot completely annihilate the other side, at least it can hold out until other detachments cruising nearby arrive to the rescue.

Deng Shichang has rich experience in maritime warfare.

His instincts told him that it was highly likely that the bandits would make a comeback and strike the coastal areas of Qingzhou again. This is in line with the characteristics of the raiding and harassment operations of the Japanese invaders, after all, they mainly raid and attack from the sea, so the restrictions are much less than that of land warfare.

However, since the coastline along the coast of Qingzhou is nearly 1,000 miles long, it is impossible to determine where the Japanese will attack from. Therefore, the army cannot be allowed to lay ambushes in advance to prevent attacks by Japanese invaders, and can only patrol within a demarcated area on the sea.

Deng Shichang clearly ordered that once an unknown vessel was found at sea, he would immediately come forward to warn and ask the other party to reveal his identity and board the ship for inspection. If the other side refuses, it can immediately fire a warning gun and quickly notify the nearby naval division detachment.

The sun had begun to set in the west, and at this time, about two hundred nautical miles southeast of Weihaiwei, seven unidentified ships were puffing up their sails and heading all the way to the coast of Qingzhou.

These ships do not look out of the ordinary in the appearance and look like ordinary merchant ships.

The middle of the ship was huge, several times larger than the others.

The other six ships were of a similar size, though of different shapes, and surrounded the large ship in a loose formation. Apparently to escort the big ship.

At this time, the closest to this unidentified fleet were ten warships of the first detachment of the first detachment of the naval division.

They spread out, keeping no more than half a nautical mile between each two warships, and carried out loitering patrols within the patrol range.

On the top of each ship's high mast, a sentry is searching around with a clairvoyant scope, and if a suspicious target is found, it will be reported to the commander of each ship as if it were a quick report.

At this time, it was already around the unitary hour, which was about 5 p.m. according to Western time.

According to the regulations, in half an hour, they will return to the temporary military port set up by the engineering battalion in Weihaiwei.

In this era, due to technical limitations, all ships are basically not capable of night sailing.

Without nautical charts, without radar, navigating at night is a very dangerous thing. So after half an hour at most, they must return, or they will be in danger of sailing at night. If nothing else, the climate on the sea surface changes greatly at night.

And there is another point, that is, these ships of the sailors are relatively small, and their ability to resist wind and waves is relatively poor.

Time passed little by little, and the sun gradually set in the west. The commander of the first detachment? After looking at the sky, he was about to give the order for the detachment to return home.

At this moment, the sentry in charge of observation on the flagship of the first detachment suddenly exclaimed loudly: "Report to the commander, an unknown fleet has been found in the southeast, and an unknown fleet has been found in the southeast!" ”

This news made everyone on the warship nervous, and they all looked at the command tube.

With a slight groan, the commander ordered the bannermen to climb the mast and wave the flag to the other ships of the nearby detachment, informing them of the enemy's situation, and ordering them to approach the flagship and prepare for battle.

At this time, the sentries on other warships also discovered the unidentified fleet, and after receiving the order of the flagship, they approached the flagship and ordered the personnel to take their positions and prepare for battle.

Under the command of the commander, the ten ships of the first detachment quickly sailed towards the unidentified fleet.

The distance between the two sides is getting closer, and the sentry on the mast, the water potential sentry, can already see each other's flags.

"Report to the commander, the flag of the other party is unknown, and it is impossible to identify it." The sentry on the mast shouted at the top of his voice.

The commander immediately made a decision and ordered ten warships to form an encirclement formation and move closer to the unknown fleet.

And the flagship issued an order to the rest of the battleships, asking them to fire at the enemy fleet at the same time as soon as they saw the flagship firing.

At this time, the unknown flotilla also discovered the first detachment that had surrounded it.

The unknown fleet quickly waved a flag to the first detachment, saying that they were merchant ships going overseas, and asked about the identity of the first detachment.

The sentry reports the opponent's flag to the commander.

The commander of the first detachment ordered the flag soldiers to wave the flag at the enemy, telling them that this was the Daming Naval Division, and asking them to stop the ship immediately and accept inspection, otherwise they would immediately open fire.

The Flag Whisperer quickly sent the Commander's Flag to the other side.

Suddenly, the unknown ship suddenly fell silent, and there was no follow-up flag.

The commander of the first detachment immediately noticed this anomaly, considered the identity of the other party very suspicious, and ordered all ships to prepare for battle, and the other side was most likely a Japanese ship.

The warships of the first detachment were already quickly ready for battle, and at this time, after receiving the order of the flagship, all of them were on high alert, and ten warships approached the suspected Japanese fleet.

Approximately within the range of the opponent's artillery, the ten ships of the first detachment stopped, forming an arc-shaped encirclement of the opposing fleet.

The commander of the first detachment on the flagship continued to give the order, and asked the flag soldiers to tell the other side that if the other side did not stop the ship for inspection, it would be destroyed immediately.

As soon as the flag whisperer played this slogan, a boat led by the other party suddenly flashed with fire, and then there was a loud bang, and a black cannonball crossed the sky and landed in the sea near the flagship, setting off a wave.

There is no need to say that the identity of the other party is very suspicious.

The commander of the first detachment decisively gave the order, ordering ten warships to disperse and advance in an arc line towards the opposing side.

Today's Qin Army's naval divisions have built warships at the beginning, and the tonnage is small, the artillery range is close, and the power is small.

Therefore, according to the wolf pack tactics formulated by Deng Shichang, when facing the enemy warband, it is usually three ships to meet the opponent's one ship. Absolute superiority in firepower is formed locally, and the gap in the quality of artillery is made up for by quantity.

In addition to the flagship, the other nine warships of the first detachment quickly formed into three battle groups and surrounded the three ships at the head of the unknown fleet.

The tonnage of the first three enemy ships is not large, and according to the volume, it is only slightly larger than the size of the naval division's warships.

And they are headwinding at this time. The sailors, on the other hand, are moving with the wind, so they are faster than them.

And if the hull is small, the turn is more flexible.

The nine warships of the Sailor Division quickly pounced on their respective targets from three different directions like wolves.

With the first cannon shot, the artillery battle between the two sides officially began.

Suddenly, the artillery on the entire sea roared in unison, the fire flickered, the cannon rumbled, and the white smoke filled, and the first naval battle since the formation of the Qin army's naval division began in such a sudden situation.