On the 12th day of August in the second year of Ninwa, at the end of the year, on the ocean 30 nautical miles southeast of Amami Oshima, to which the Ryukyu Islands belonged, a huge fleet of nearly 50 warships of various types was sailing at high speed, pointing directly to Osaka Bay, and the flags of various colors in the fleet fluttered in the wind. Then there were Dutch and Portuguese warships, six each, and the least was the French-flagged warships, only three, and this multinational combined fleet concentrated almost all the main warships of Western countries in Asia, flagship: Valiant, fleet commander: Admiral Edward Vernon of Great Britain.

Edward Vernon, nickname: Angry Admiral, joined the British Navy in 1700, promoted to rear admiral in 1722, was promoted to admiral in 1728 because of his repeated military exploits, is a typical militant in the British Navy, at the beginning of last year, was ordered to lead a detachment of a fleet to East Asia, arrived in India this spring, and joined forces with the fleet of the British East India Company to form the British Asian Fleet, served as the commander of the fleet, this time united the four major naval powers, tangled into a combined fleet, north to the east, Prepare to respond to the rebellion of the remnants of the Toei shogunate.

"Report."

Edward Vernon has been in the army for more than 30 years, his footprints have been all over Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States, he has long been accustomed to seeing the scenery of the sea, and he will not be like a young man who sways on the deck from time to time, as long as he is fine, he is generally in the war room to deduce all kinds of naval battle tactics, as a pastime to kill time, this is no exception, no, just now I took a nap, after getting up, I sat on the side of the large nautical chart with a pen to write and draw and fiddle open, just when I was indulging, but I heard a knock on the door, and his adjutant had already shouted a password outside the door.

"Come in."

Despite the noise, Edward Vernon did not look up from the large chart, but simply gave a casual order.

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, the Forward Fleet has sent a signal that the ships that have arrived in Dongying to receive them, and one of the representatives has asked to see you, please make it clear to Your Excellency the Commander."

As soon as the door opened, a tall young officer strode up to Edward Vernon's side, gave a respectful military salute, and said in a loud voice.

"Well, bring him here."

After listening to the adjutant's report, Edward Vernon finally raised his head, frowned slightly, and after a slight groan, he waved his hand and agreed to the request of the Japanese representative.

"Yes!"

Since Edward Vernon had the order, the adjutant did not dare to delay a little, hurried a military salute, and strode out of the war room, leaving the relevant matters without mentioning it.

"The villain Nagasaki Daikan Yamamura Hisatake has come to greet His Excellency the General on the orders of Shimazu Ichiro, the daimyo of the Satsuma Domain, my family."

More than half an hour later, two short middle-aged men in kimonos, led by the adjutant, marched into the war room, and as soon as one of the richly dressed middle-aged men entered, he bowed deeply to Edward Vernon, and an interpreter who followed him stammered what he said in unfamiliar English.

"Your Excellency Laoshan Village has come from afar to greet you, hard work, please take a seat."

Edward Vernon looked down on Asians in his heart, except for the strong Qing Dynasty that could make him a little jealous, in his eyes, the rest of the people in Asia belonged to the uncivilized barbarians, especially the short Japanese people, in his opinion, it was no different from a group of monkeys, of course, there was still a time when the Japanese had to be used, Edward Vernon did not give Yamamura Hisatake a look, but got up with a smile and said hello.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, General, for your kindness, you can lead your troops to help our country, and the villain would like to express his gratitude to the general on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of our country."

Yamamura Hissatake came all the way, and was really shocked by the strength of the combined fleet, at the same time, there was also a burst of ecstasy in his heart, in his mind, with such a powerful fleet, the Qing people will not have a good end, as long as they can tie up the Westerners, it is already a hope that the Japanese kingdom will rise again, it is from this kind of thought, Yamamura Histake's desire to please Edward Vernon can be said to be very strong, and a greeting is honestly frightened.

"Your Excellency Shancun doesn't need to be so polite, upholding justice is the purpose of my Kingdom of Great Britain, your country has been ravaged by the Qing people, my Western countries can't sit idly by, everything is for justice, Your Excellency rest assured, with my powerful combined fleet, the Qing people will not end well."

Although Edward Vernon was born in the military, he also served as a member of the House of Commons for more than ten years, and he was no stranger to political and diplomatic affairs.

"Your Excellency the General said well, if our country can be rescued this time, we are willing to conclude an eternal friendship agreement with your country and the Western countries to jointly curb the greed of the Qing people.

After listening to the interpreter's relay, Yamamura Hisatake trembled with excitement on the spot, and made a lot of promises with gratitude.

"There is no urgency in this matter, winning the current battle is the key, Your Excellency Yamamura, please sit down, there are a few questions, and please answer them truthfully, so as to ensure that your two countries can work together to defeat the evil Qing people."

Although Edward Vernon has the ability to be a politician, in the final analysis, he is still a soldier, and he only cares about whether the war can be won.

"Your Excellency General can only ask if you have any questions, as long as the villain knows, you don't dare to hide it in the slightest."

Although Edward Vernon had given up his seat twice in a row, Yamamura did not dare to sit down, but humbly bowed down and made a flattering assurance.

"Well, the Kiyoto's fleet has changed recently, are you still staying in Osaka Port?"

Seeing that Yamamura Hisatake was always standing, Edward Vernon didn't bother to give up his seat any longer, nodded solemnly, and immediately asked the two questions he was most concerned about.

"Back to the general's words, the Qing fleet has a total of twenty-one warships, including six large warships, twelve medium warships, and three high-speed cruisers, most of which are docked at the dock, only four warships are cruising in Osaka Bay, and now the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, according to the practice of the Qing people, will not go to sea on a large scale at this time, we have made all arrangements, as long as the general's fleet arrives, we will not only conquer the batteries on the periphery of Osaka, but also send troops to contain the Qing fleet from land, In order to ensure that the general's fleet implements the encirclement and annihilation of the Qing fleet, and does not hide from His Excellency the general, the villain brought dozens of carrier pigeons on this trip, and can convey the general's orders back to China at any time, so as to ensure the close cooperation between you and us. ”

Edward Vernon's question was only two sentences, but Yamamura Hisatake replied at length, almost like a bamboo tube pouring beans, and explained all the arrangements of the Japanese side.

"Very good, Your Excellency Yamamura, please give a detailed description of the Qing people's fort equipment and the deployment of the military port in front of the sea chart."

Edward Vernon was obviously very satisfied with Yamamura Hisatake's cooperation, but he did not take it lightly, even if he had obtained information from the Japanese side in advance, and he already knew the deployment of the Qing army in the area of Osaka Bay, but he still asked Yamamura Hisatake to explain it in detail.

"That's good, that's good, Shogun, please see, this is the Awaji Island Fort, which is equipped with 28 heavy guns, and this is the Wakayama Battery, which is equipped with 32 heavy guns, and the two batteries echo each other from afar, which is enough to seal the Tomoshima Strait, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there is also ...... here."

Yamamura Hisatake came prepared, and he had already memorized the military facilities of the Qing Dynasty in the area of Osaka Bay.

"Your Excellency Yamamura, there is no problem with this general, please send a message back to your country immediately, and we will attack Osaka Port at high speed according to the scheduled deployment, and strive to encircle and annihilate the Qing fleet in Osaka Bay, and I also ask you to fully cooperate with our actions."

Edward Vernon asked very carefully, interrupting Yamamura Hirotake's statement from time to time, asking in detail about the specific details, and after a meeting, it took nearly an hour to finally verify all the information carefully, and in addition to being determined, he did not say any more, and waved his hand very politely, and gave the first order to Yamamura Histake.

"Lord General, please rest assured, it's all wrapped up in the villain, please stay, and the villain will arrange it."

As soon as he heard Edward Vernon's order, Yamamura Hisatake did not dare to slack off, respectfully agreed, bowed deeply, and then led the interpreter out of the war room, and did not mention the preparation of the fishing boat he was on when he returned.

"Order: The commanders of the detachments are here immediately!"

After sending Yamamura away, Edward Vernon did not immediately issue an order, but leaned on the large chart with a slight frown, and carefully deduced the possible evolution of the battle situation, until all the details were confirmed, then he stood up, paced back and forth in the cabin, raised his hand, and gave the order with a resolute look on his face.

"Yes!"

As soon as Edward Vernon's order was given, one of his heralds, who was on his side, hurriedly answered the promise, and hurried out of the war room, arranging the herald without mentioning it......