Port of Quanzhou.

Compared with the previous dilapidated last year, the current port of Quanzhou looks a lot more vibrant. The dredging of waterways, the expansion of military ports and dry camps for sailors, all attracted a large number of laborers, and provided a stable income for many locals who could not find work. At the same time, the maintenance of dozens of original warships and the rush to build a number of new ships have also kept the shipwrights of Quanzhou Port busy for generations, and they are still working overtime.

Influenced by these newly-built warships, merchants who escorted timber and lacquer came from afar to consume here, and transported a batch of seafood by the way, which invisibly further boosted the economy of Quanzhou Port.

Although Chen Wu's investment in the navy was far from large enough to affect the whole of Quanzhou, it had already made a good start to revitalize this once prosperous seaport, and the recent purge of the Haikou was the icing on the cake. Although Quanzhou is far less than it was in its heyday when there were hundreds of seagoing ships, it is much better than in previous years.

It is precisely because of this that Quanzhou Port was among the three prefectures of Ninghai, and it quickly became the most supportive place for the Songjiang Army.

However, the people here did not know that a catastrophe would soon befall Quanzhou Port again, pushing this seaport that had finally recovered a little vitality into the abyss at any time.

More than ten pirates, under the visit of the black-clothed guards, were connected in series, led by the Dongyi ronin Inoue Kozo, and temporarily formed a pirate alliance to take revenge on the Matsue army. Among them, although some of the pirates participated in the benefits promised by the black-clothed guards, most of them were remnants of the last encirclement and suppression by the Songjiang army. Suddenly suffering such a big loss, and being almost expelled from Ninghai County, they naturally couldn't swallow this breath.

Taking a step back, even if the revenge factor is put aside, with the continuous high-pressure and strict investigation of the Matsue Army, they will fall into an existential crisis if they cannot continue to plunder. I've been a coward for so long. Accustomed to killing and looting with quick money, these pirates have long been unwilling to continue to farm hard.

In addition, the interior of Ninghai County. There are also some local forces that collude with them and are complicit in the same thing.

Once the whole plan is finalized, they will dispatch a full 600 elite pirates. Wantonly attacked the villages and towns near Quanzhou Port, and lured the defenders in Quanzhou Port to go out of the city to pursue and kill. At that time, the soldiers of the Omani Guards who came with the Nanyang Naval Division took the opportunity to land and raid the defenders who were scattered all over the place who were busy strangling the Haikou pirates, and then inflicted heavy damage on the Songjiang army in Ninghai County.

If conditions permit, the Omanis can disguise themselves as returning defenders to trick the city gates. With the Nei Ying of the Black Guard, this chance of success is very high.

Due to the dispatch of the clipper ship first, at this moment, the black-clothed guards in Quanzhou Port had already received the news of the main force of the Nanyang Naval Division's fleet. If there are no accidents, it will arrive offshore in the Eastern Ocean in the next few days to a week. If they really succeeded, neither the Haikou nor the Omanis would mind emptying the entire port of Quanzhou by the way, and finally burning it to the ground, in order to take revenge on the damned Songjiang army.

A large part of the reason why those pirate leaders are willing to be used by the Omanis as cannon fodder for the lead is precisely for this.

The details of the entire Black Sword operation are only known to a few pirate leaders, and ordinary pirates only know that the Omani black guards are involved, and even more are unknown. Leakage is prevented to the greatest extent. But fortunately, the Matsue Army still found some traces, and Shun Teng found out about the existence of the "Black Sword Operation".

Although the exact content of this plan is uncertain, it is not known. But it's much easier to know in advance. Including Shazhou and Hualien, the entire Ninghai Sanfu has entered a state of loosening on the outside and tightening on the inside. At this time, the first batch of military funds of the empire had been allocated from Qinghe County and arrived in Songjiang nearby, and the military headquarters immediately sent this batch of military equipment to Ninghai and delivered it to the Ninghai Garrison Brigade, which had been misappropriated.

Although these 4,000 men were pure recruits, their combat effectiveness has improved considerably as the training of recruits in the War Readiness Administration has been continuously improved and their armaments have been replaced. Let alone. This battle was to defend their homeland from the reprisals of the pirates, and most of the local soldiers were able to burst out with exponential combat power and fighting spirit.

In the assessment of the MI. They can play at a level close to the second line of the empire in this battle.

With advance preparation, ordinary pirate attacks can't help them.

For insurance. Of course, Chen Wu will not only make this preparation. Under his order, the 3rd Brigade of the Dengzhou Garrison Division moved eastward and moved to the junction of Wushan Province in Songjiang County and Shazhou Province in Ninghai County, where it could cross the border at any time to support.

The 1st Cavalry Brigade of the 6th Mixed Division of the Songjiang Army also moved to the vicinity of Quanzhou in advance.

Just to deal with some pirates, dispatching a brigade of cavalry is undoubtedly too trivial. But don't forget, Chen Wu had the idea of landing in the hinterland of Oman with the help of the Ninghai Division, and wreaking havoc on the Chiang Mai plain to contain it. This cavalry brigade just came a little ahead of time.

With such an additional layer of insurance, the strength of the Songjiang Army in Ninghai County is very considerable.

Don't look at the fact that it is only half the size of a normal state and county, but it gathers the Ninghai Garrison Brigade, the cavalry brigade of the Sixth Mixed Division of the Songjiang Army, the expanded Ninghai Division, plus the city defense battalions of the three prefectures and the 4,000 Dengzhou garrison troops that can be reinforced at any time on the border, with a total of nearly 20,000 people!

Even though the combat strength of these troops is uneven, they are still regular troops, especially the precious cavalry of the 4,000 Songjiang Army. If this can't stop the pirates, then the strength of the Ninghai pirates will be able to claim the throne long ago.

The planning and preparation of both sides were completed almost at the same time. As soon as the Nanyang Naval Division, which carried 4,100 soldiers, arrived offshore, Operation Black Sword would be launched quickly. Among them, 4,000 light infantry are the elite of the 3rd Division of the Guards of the Kingdom of Oman; Another hundred were accompanying cavalry.

In the eyes of the Omanis, when the main force of the Songjiang Army was transferred to the south, the forces on the side of Ninghai County were in a vacuum. As long as the big city is not stormed, these 4,000 elite guards will be invincible.

A few days passed like this.

The port of Quanzhou is still lively, but behind the surface of the vitality is hidden surging undercurrent. The Songjiang Army did not know the specific time of the pirates' actions, and could not even fully conclude that they would definitely launch in Quanzhou Port, but based on more and more clues, it was inferred that the most likely target was here, and the time should not be too far away.

Everyone knows that the longer the preparation time for a big operation involving so many people, the greater the possibility of leakage and leakage.

Finally, early morning on the 31st of July!

While the pirates were already impatiently waiting, the fleet of the Nanyang Naval Division finally arrived belatedly. Together with a dozen or so Omani own warships, this fleet of more than 200 ships totaled sailed to the open sea of the Eastern Ocean under the cover of the faint salt spray on the sea, about half a day's voyage from the port of Quanzhou. Unwilling to overstimulate the Empire, these fleets all flew the flag of the sailors of the Kingdom of Oman.

The shadow of the sails of the sky and the sun made these well-informed pirates take aback.

The Omanis have really invested a lot this time!

With such a large fleet, it is impossible to hide it for too long, and the news may leak at any time. In fact, they had already sunk several small fishing fleets on the way. Although the weather was not very good, the Omanis decided to immediately launch Operation Black Sword and attack the port of Quanzhou after connecting with the pirates.

For the Omanis, there is a very favorable news for them, that is, the Songjiang people should not know the existence of the Nanyang Naval Division, and the main force is retreating in the port of Quanzhou. And now, the monsoon winds blowing from the sea are in their favor. The Nanyang Navy Division could release the mother ship, pile firewood and black oil on it, and burn the harbor with fire, sending the entire Ninghai Division into the sea of fire along with the military port of Quanzhou Port.

"General Musha, I beg your pardon for refusing!"

Admiral Ba Tong Ho of the Nanyang Naval Division shook his head haughtily and rejected the general in charge of commanding the Omani army. When the treaty on the loan of troops was signed earlier, the two sides made it very clear. The Nanyang Naval Division was only responsible for transporting troops, and would not fight against the Imperials.

"However, if you don't destroy the Ninghai Division, how can the Admiral guarantee the landing of Shun Lì?" A sly glint flashed in Mu Sha's eyes, and he said with a sincere face: "I know that you have maritime trade contacts with the Qianyuan Empire, and you also have some friendship with the Donghai County. But in the eyes of the Ninghai Seamen, you are our Omani fleet. Even if the Admiral is unwilling to exchange fire, there is no guarantee that Master Ninghai will not take the initiative to find us. ”

Hearing this, Ba Tonghe had a little more hesitation on his face, and after a little thought, he said: "This is not a problem, we can let you land farther away from Quanzhou Port, and try to avoid Ninghai Division." ”

"No, no, no, it's not going to work!"

Mu Sha was determined to pull the Nanyang sailors into the water, how could he agree to the other party's suggestion. was about to continue to persuade, but saw that Ba Tonghe's face was a little more dissatisfied, and said strongly word by word: "General Musha, this is my fleet, I don't need your guidance on how to do it, understand?" ”

Although the Omani Guards are powerful, this is on the Eastern Ocean, and the Guards are scattered among troop carriers!

At the moment, Ba Tong and the absolute situation are in control, and he is not afraid of Musha at all.

Seeing that the admiral of the sailor suddenly became angry, Mu Sha flashed a little annoyance and unwillingness in his heart, but he didn't dare to really tear his face with the other party, so he could only shrug his shoulders helplessly and obediently chose to back down.

"The goal, ten miles south of Quanzhou Port, send our friendly troops to land!"

Seeing Musa compromise, Batong and his face relented, and he gave an order to the first officer, who had re-approved their position in their previous exchanges with the local pirates.

The Omanis fought against the Empire, and he didn't want to get involved in it and let his men die for the Omanis. What's more, the Empire's sailors may not be as defenseless as the Omanis think, and the fire attack of the mother ship may not be effective.

As the pirates landed first, after a delay of almost half a day, the flagship of the Nanyang Naval Division raised the flag, and the entire huge fleet immediately began to turn in unison and slowly sailed towards the shore. (To be continued.) )

ps:Because the plot of this chapter has been revised for a long time.,The second chapter of the guide zhì couldn't be coded...... Forgive me, book friends, Odin is also working hard to write!