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"Damn, where are those fleets of the Xinhua Army hiding?" Seeing that time passed little by little, but no trace of the Xinhua Army fleet had been found, the Admiral of the Guangdong Navy Division, Lord Lai, scolded angrily. If it was dawn, they wouldn't have a chance.

From the mouth of the Pearl River is Lingdingyang, where the islands are dense, if the fleet of the Xinhua Army is hidden here, it will be very difficult for the Guangdong sailors to find them. Moreover, the seaworthiness of these small boats filled with fire oil is very bad, and a little wind and waves may cause the ship to capsize. The longer the time drags on, the more unfavorable it will be to the Guangdong sailors!

The 1st and 4th fleets of the Xinhua Army, as well as hundreds of transports of the protectors, retreated to the waters east of the Wanshan Islands in the Lingding Ocean. If the Cantonese sailors wanted to discover their call, they had to pass through the archipelago. Of course, the Xinhua Army did not expect that the Guangdong Navy Division would really have the courage to dare to launch an attack on the Xinhua Army fleet at night. You must know that such an action is almost a life-or-death event!

"Junmen, it's already five watches, and in one more hour, the sky will be bright. Let's go back! A general of the Guangdong Navy Division said to Lord Lyne with a dejected face. There is no doubt that their operation failed this time, and after searching for a night, they found no trace of the Xinhua army. If you don't leave now, when the Xinhua army comes up after dawn, you won't be able to leave again.

Lord Ryan looked up and looked at the sky in the distance. At this time the eastern sky. There's already a hint of grayness. In another hour or so, it will be dawn. That means that the plan of the Guangdong Navy Division will end in failure. But. If he gave up, he would be unwilling. This is the only chance for the Guangdong sailors to recover their disadvantage. Lord Lai is different from other Qing army generals, other generals may choose to give up when they encounter this situation, they are just for money. But Lord Ryan is different, he puts loyalty and patriotism first. When the British attacked Canton, he led the naval division to resist valiantly. After Guan Tianpei died in battle, he took over as the commander of the Guangdong Navy Division, and he put the style of protecting the family and defending the country. Instilled in the entire army of the Guangdong Naval Division.

"Nope! Continue to search eastward, the Xinhua Army must be hiding somewhere in Lingdingyang, and we still have an hour to find them! Lord Ryan commanded through gritted teeth. He knew it. Because of this command. It is likely that it will be the Guangdong sailors who have suffered heavy losses. However, he has no other way, and Zhilu Dao can go all the way to the dark.

"Yes, Junmen!" The general had no choice but to follow Lord Ryan's orders.

Hundreds of small boats filled with fire oil of the Guangdong sailors braved the wind and waves and continued to search eastward. Because the wind and waves were too strong, there were two small boats because of improper manoeuvring. overturned, and the Qing soldiers above all fell into the sea. Because of the night. But three men got up, and the rest drowned. Hearing this report, Lord Ryan was stunned, but he didn't say a word.

At 5 o'clock in the morning, a faint light appeared in the sky. In another half hour or so, the sky will start to increase in volume. The 1st and 4th fleets of the Xinhua Army also lifted the light control, and the sailors began to get busy. Soon, the fleet will move westward, and today, the navy of the new country will launch an attack on the Cantonese naval battalion in Shunde, and then land there.

Yesterday afternoon, the 4th Fleet had already destroyed the Qing artillery batteries along the Pearl River, and today the fleet only needed to destroy the naval battalion. This is hardly any difficulty for the Xinhua Navy.

In the dark, the light can travel far away. The Guangdong sailors, who were searching for the traces of the Xinhua fleet, suddenly discovered a light in the distance.

"Great, I found the traces of the Xinhua Army! All ships, approaching the fleet of the new Chinese army. When you get close, light the oil and jump into the sea to escape! Lord Ryan ordered. At this moment, it is far from the coastline, and if you jump into the sea to escape, the chances of survival will be very low. But if the Chinese fleet can be rebuilt, even if it pays a big loss, it will be worth it.

Hundreds of small ships began to press towards the fleet of the Xinhua Army. It's just that the speed of the boat is really choking. In addition, this is the sea, and the force of the current is very small, so the officers and soldiers of the Qing army's naval division can only row with oars.

To the west of the Xinhua fleet were the warships of the 4th Fleet. They are responsible for providing alert tasks for the fleet. At this time, visibility is still relatively low. However, the watchman had already climbed the mast and began to search the nearby sea.

At 5:20 a.m., the wingmen of cruiser No. 43 noticed a dark shadow moving to the west. He rubbed his eyes, then looked over again. Because at this time, the horizon is no longer pitch black. So, although it was a little blurry, I was able to tell what those dark shadows were!

"Enemy attack!" The watchman quickly sounded the alarm and issued an enemy attack alarm. Suddenly, the entire fleet was busy!

"Transports and merchant ships evacuate immediately! The 1st Fleet rises to the top and prepares to engage the enemy! "Lieutenant General Niu Meng, Chief of the General Staff, gave the order as soon as possible. The transports and merchant ships, which had already lowered their sails, began to raise their sails again and prepare to evacuate eastward. Once the battle begins, transports and merchant ships will not only be of little help, but will become a liability.

The 12 warships of the 1st Fleet also began to turn around one after another, preparing to go up to support the 4th Fleet. Because they were separated by several kilometers, they did not know who was attacking, the composition of the opponent's fleet, and so on.

At this time, the 4th Fleet had already opened fire, using the naval guns on the side to fire on those black shadows. The sails of the battleship were also raised, and the speed increased considerably.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The rumbling of cannon rang out over the sea. Splashes of water. Because of the night, the hit rate of the Xinhua Army was extremely low. However, the fierce artillery fire of the Xinhua Army made the Guangdong Navy Division panic for a while.

"Damn, it was discovered by the Xinhua Army! All the warships, ignite the fire oil, and fight with the Xinhua army! Admiral Lai Enjue of the Guangdong Navy commanded.

Soon, one warship after another was set on fire. After the oil was ignited, the fire was very strong. It's as if the whole sea is on fire.

"Fire attack? Scattered! All the ships were scattered to avoid being approached by the fireships. Ship guns open fire and sink those fireships! Ye Feng, commander of the 4th Fleet, ordered.

Hundreds of fireships rushed towards the Xinhua fleet, but because the speed was too slow, and the warships of the Xinhua Army had raised their sails and became nimble, the threat of these fireships to the warships of the Xinhua Army was extremely low.

"Boom!" A lit fireboat was hit by a 75-millimeter shell, and the shell loaded with more than a kilogram of smokeless gunpowder exploded, easily tearing the boat to pieces. The oil poured into the sea and burned.

As the sky gradually brightened, more and more fireships were hit by the naval guns of the Xinhua army. The night attack launched by the Guangdong Navy Division no longer existed as a threat to the Xinhua fleet. However, this also made the Xinhua army feel uneasy. If the Guangdong sailors had found them two hours earlier, it would have been darker at that time, and the watchmen of the Xinhua Army would not have been able to detect them in time. In that case, the Xinhua Army will definitely pay a heavy price!

The 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Army also caught up and began to bombard the fireships on the sea with naval guns. One after another, the fireships were destroyed by the warships of the Xinhua Army, and the officers and men of the Qing Army's naval division who jumped into the sea to escape were very depressed. Their efforts were in vain.

After more than half an hour, the crisis was completely resolved. The retreating merchant ships were also reunited.

"Chief of Staff, I found that there were many officers and soldiers of the Qing Army's naval division who jumped into the sea on the sea, do you want to rescue them?" Rear Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet, asked.

"Get them up! Although they almost cost us dearly, they are also compatriots! Lieutenant General Niu Meng said. Now that he thinks about it, he is still a little afraid, and he can only say that the luck of the Xinhua Army is too good. If you are a little more unlucky, you may be successfully attacked by the Guangdong sailors. If it were foreigners, the Xinhua Army would not have rescued those soldiers who fell into the water. However, the other party is Chinese, and that is different.

"Yes, Chief of Staff!" Major General Wei Yong nodded.

Soon, the warships of the Xinhua Army began to cruise on the surface of the sea to rescue the officers and soldiers of the Qing Army's naval division who had fallen into the water. The officers and soldiers of the Qing Army's naval division who were rescued were all surprised, and they didn't seem to expect that the Xinhua Army would save them. You must know that before this, the generals of the Qing army promoted the Xinhua Army as a rebellious rebellious minister and thief.

After these officers and men of the sailor division were rescued, the Xinhua Army not only did not embarrass them, but also provided them with hot soup. Soaking in the sea for an hour in October will freeze people out. Of course, the necessary supervision is still indispensable. In case these rescued Qing officers and soldiers did not know what to do, the Xinhua Army would not be polite to them. Fortunately, this time, the Guangdong sailors sent out all the fire boats, this kind of small boat, and there are only a few people on each boat. The warships of the Xinhua Army were busy for more than an hour, rescuing more than 300 people, and some people disappeared.

The Admiral of Guangdong, Lord Lai, was also rescued on the boat. Although he had taken off his armor when he jumped into the sea, he was still recognized. The soldiers of the Xinhua Army also took the opportunity to learn his identity. As a result, Lord Ryne was brought to Lieutenant General Niu Meng, chief of staff of the Xinhua Army.

"You're Lord Ryan? The Admiral of the Guangdong Naval Division? Niu Meng looked at Lord Ryan and asked.

"Humph! If you want to kill or chop you all over the place, I will never frown at someone! Lord Ryan looked heroic. (To be continued......)