On the island of Ceylon, the situation is complicated.

Before the arrival of the Eastern Romans, it was mainly controlled by the Sinhalese Kingdom and the Tamil Kingdom, both of which wanted to annex each other and fought against each other.

When the Eastern Romans got involved, it was another scuffle, and gradually formed a three-legged trend.

Today, the Sinhalese kingdom retreated to the north and the Eastern Romans occupied the south, leaving the Tamil kingdom in a state of misery and driven into the central mountains.

The island is high in the middle and low on all sides, and it is very dependent on navigation, living in the central mountainous area, almost cut off from the outside world.

Located at the southwestern tip of the island, the port of Kalamba is home to hundreds of warships.

In the City of Condor, less than thirty miles from the port, senior Eastern Roman officers were discussing a battle meeting with the aim of completely destroying the Tamil Kingdom and then continuing its expansion northward.

The city of Kalamba, originally named after Sinhala, is now decorated with a dark gold double-headed eagle flag.

Queen Dosia sat lazily in her spacious gold-encrusted chair, glass of red wine in her hand, and watched the officers quarrel over different lines of battle.

Her eyes glanced over everyone, in fact, she didn't know how to fight, and she didn't care how the next battle would be fought, she was just thinking about who to spend the night with tonight.

General Grilut?

It looks very powerful, but it is useless.

General Bain?

The technique is not bad, but it is too old and not durable enough......

At this time, she began to miss Charlemagne, who was fighting in the East, and he really shouldn't have let him go, and now she can't even find a suitable partner.

"Docia...... Queen Dosia ......"

A discordant voice came, and all the officers frowned, because this was the highest military council of Eastern Rome, who was reckless to break in?

Dosia raised her eyes and looked a little surprised: "Colonel Wells, didn't you follow Charlemagne to the far east?" Why did you come back all of a sudden? ”

For these troops who are fighting abroad, if they return to the City of Condor, there will inevitably be a letter sent in advance.

However, Wells arrived suddenly, without warning.

Even a person like Docia, who doesn't care about government affairs, can feel that the situation is not right today.

"The devils of the East, they destroyed the Golden Griffin Fleet......"

"Colonel Wells, what are you talking about? Is there a devil in the East? ”

"They are more terrible than the devil, ironclad, ironclad ......"

Wales was somewhat incoherent, and to this day he has not shaken the shock of that fight.

After everyone asked, they all showed incredible looks.

Most of the people present had seen the drawings of the ironclad ship, but they only regarded it as a joke.

Boiling water can create a huge impetus and drive a 10,000-ton giant ship, isn't it a joke?

Wales's face turned pale and he said: "The ironclad ships of the Orientals are simply unstoppable, General Charlemagne is killed in battle, and the navy of the Golden Griffin fleet is killed in battle, God...... Abandoned us! ”

Suddenly, the white-bearded General Bain said, "Wells, you said that all the navy of the Golden Griffin fleet was killed, why are you still alive?" ”

】

Only then did everyone realize the problem and looked at Wells.

Grirut was even more disdainful, and said, "You surrendered? Or was it because of cowardice that he did not participate in the war at all and secretly ran back? ”

"No, absolutely not!"

Wells waved his hand vigorously and explained: "I was taking a unit to the island to pursue the Ming army, and at this time, the ironclad ship suddenly appeared and destroyed everything, I, I ...... Captured......"

"So, you're surrendering?"

"I didn't, I just, just ......"

"Just what?"

"The emperor of the Ming Dynasty let me come back and asked me to tell Queen Dosia that he said......"

Duosia couldn't help but ask, "What did you say, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness, the ironclad ship is controlled by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty himself, he destroyed the golden griffin fleet, and let me tell you, ......"

"Say what?"

He said...... You took his stuff, and he's going to take it back himself! ”

As soon as these words came out, the hall was in an uproar.

A declaration of war, a declaration of war!

And the attitude is extremely arrogant, naked contempt!

When did we, the Holy Empire of Eastern Rome, suffer such a gas!

After all, General Bane was old and serious, and immediately asked, "Wells, are you sure you are not lying?" ”

Wells swore and said, "In God's name, I swear!" ”

Bane's face was very entangled, and he said: "The approach of the Orientals is very unusual, since they have such a mysterious and powerful weapon as the ironclad ship, if we kill all of you and raid the island of Ceylon, we are unprepared, and we will inevitably be hit hard, so ...... Why did they let you go? ”

"I don't know, I don't know ......"

Wells muttered that until now, he doubted the truth of what he had experienced, because he also didn't understand why the Ming Army would let him back.

Bane seemed to realize something, and suddenly asked, "Wells, to be honest, did you surrender to the Orientals and return to the City of Condor to do your internal response?" ”

The crowd had the same question, and they all stared at Wells with fierce eyes, waiting for his reply.

Wells is going crazy, the crushing attack of the ironclad ship has caused a shadow on his soul, and he finally returned to the City of Condor and was questioned by his own people......

"What I said is true, Your Highness the Queen, you have to believe me!"

Dosia said with a smile: "Wells, you just said that you saw the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Yes, it's the Ming Emperor!"

"Oh, what does he look like? Is it an old man with a gray beard? ”

As she spoke, she involuntarily glanced at the old general Bane.

Wells shook his head and said, "He's young, only in his twenties, and he doesn't have a beard...... Oh, just some stubble, and it's black. ”

"What did you say?"

Duoxia was puzzled: "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty is a young man? ”

"Yes, very young, definitely not more than thirty."

"Is he handsome?"

Wells shook his head, nodded again, and said, "I didn't see it clearly, at the time, at that time...... A lot of people were standing next to me with knives, and I was scared ......"

Dosiah's expression was a little disappointed, and he said, "He said we took his things, what is it?" ”

"Yes...... Drawings of the ironclad! ”

"Oh, you said those drawings ......"

Dosia tilted her head and thought for a while, and said, "General Grirut, General Bane, if we return the drawings to them, won't there be no need to fight?" ”

"No, Your Highness!"

Grirut said loudly: "The Easterners have declared war, we cannot retreat!" ”

"Yes, I agree with Grirut!"

Bane then said, "The Golden Griffon Fleet is the elite navy of our Eastern Rome, and we want revenge!" ”

"But, Wells said, they have ironclad ships, and we can't beat them," said Dosiah. ”

Bane immediately replied: "If we encounter at sea, we really can't defeat it, but the current situation is that the Orientals need to cross thousands of miles of oceans, and in the face of our strong city defenses, their advantage will be lost!" ”

Grirut then said: "The Orientals are too arrogant, they think that with ironclad ships they can be invincible in the world, then come on, this time they will pay the price!" ”

Dosia asked, "Okay, tell me, what do we need to do now?" ”

Griruda was in a hurry, took the map, and crossed out the battle route he had just drawn.

"From now on, our focus will be on the coastal ports, build stronger fortifications as soon as possible, the enemy in the north will not be taken care of for the time being, General Bain, the defense on the shore will be handed over to you."

Bane squinted and asked, "What about you?" ”

Grilut pointed to the location of the harbor and said: "I will lead the Condor fleet to hide, and when the Ming army's fleet approaches, you will attack from the land and I will attack from the sea, front and back, so that they will not return!" ”

The port of Kalamba suddenly became busy, and the market became extremely short of food, cloth and other materials, and many people were recruited to build forts in the port.

The number of soldiers is also increasing, and many are even recruited from small surrounding countries.

They didn't know that they were going to fight, and they didn't know who the enemy was about to face, but they received a call-up and heard that the benefits were good, so they followed.

All the Eastern Roman armies that had been fighting were recalled one after another, and in just one month, the strength of the City of Condor quickly expanded to 50,000 men.

Originally built by the Sinhalese people, the city is made of huge stones, but after simple repairs, it has become impregnable.

There were a few ships parked in the harbor, because the main fleet had already left the harbor and hid in a position of less than thirty nautical miles, just waiting for the arrival of the Ming fleet.

Everything was being prepared in a tense and orderly manner, because they didn't know when the Ming army would arrive.

Maybe tomorrow......

However, there are also people who believe that the Ming army is just bluffing and will not come.

Their reason was that if the Ming army really wanted to attack the City of Condor, why did they say it in advance, wouldn't it be good to have a sneak attack?

Until the dawn of this day......

Woo woo –

A low roar sounded, and everyone was amazed to see that a huge warship broke through the mist and slowly approached.

"Oh God, they're coming!"

"Go and inform General Bane ......"

"Is that the ironclad?"

The harbor suddenly became chaotic, and everyone scrambled to take refuge in the newly built fortress.

Zhu Qizhen stood on the deck, looking at the port of Kalamba in front of him with a telescope.

"Your Majesty, you better go back to the command cabin!"

Jin Ying is very anxious, if you fight, you will fight, can you hide.

Every time you stand in the bow of the ship, afraid that the enemy's artillery will not hit you?

Zhu Qizhen suddenly said: "Something is wrong! ”

"What...... Wrong? ”

"There are only a few small ships in the harbor, where has their fleet gone?"

Jin Ying wondered: "Could it be that we didn't find the right place?" Maybe it's just a small port? ”

Zhu Qizhen shook his head slowly, although he was not familiar with the island of Sri Lanka, but at least he had heard that the port of Kalamba was the largest port here.

It can't be just these boats!

It seems that the other party is still a little clever, and wants to take advantage of his own attack to sneak up on his own eyes when he is attacking?

"Message, turn left and head north along the coastline!"

"Yes!"

With a low roar, the Zheng He suddenly changed direction and turned north.

On the watchtower of the harbor, General Bane looked at the huge ship and couldn't help but be horrified.

It's really an ironclad!

The body of steel, steam-powered, is exactly as depicted on the drawings.

It turned out that the drawings were not a fantasy.

They really made it!

He quickly calculated in his heart how to win in the face of such a steel behemoth.

The only way to do this is to hold it off with the fortifications of the harbor, as Grirut said, and wait for the Condor fleet to strike when the opponent's ammunition is exhausted......

Wait a minute!

To Bane's amazement, the huge ship suddenly turned around and left!

Moreover, the direction is......

Bane hurriedly pulled a man over and said, "Go to Negombo at once and tell Grirut that the Ming fleet is heading in the direction of his ambush!" ”

A small team rode fast horses and quickly set off from the port of Kalamba to the port of Negombo in the north.

At the same time, the Ming fleet, led by Zheng He, followed the coastline of Ceylon and headed north.

From morning to noon, finally, the messenger team arrived at the port of Negombo.

However, before their news arrived, a huge battleship was seen coming from the sea.

Woo woo –

The low roar was very penetrating, as if it was too late.

On the Zheng He, everyone began to get busy.

The food on the ship was good, they had just eaten a full meal, and they had more strength than they could do.

The flaps on the ship's side had been opened, and the guns had been pushed out along the rails, peeking out of the dark and hideous muzzles.

The quartermaster officers began to transport the shells, and they quickly distributed the ammunition to all the gunners in small carts with slides.

Each gun consisted of a firing group of three people, one main gunner, one observer, and one loader.

The observer has taken the range and adjusted the angle and direction of the shot.

Subsequently, the loader went into action, stuffing the shell into the chamber.

By this time, Grilut had already noticed something strange on the surface of the sea.

Although the person sent by Bane to deliver the letter had not yet arrived, he was not blind.

Such a big ship suddenly appeared on the sea, and as long as it was a person, he knew what was going on.

Therefore, he took the lead in the attack.

Zhu Qizhen finally found the other party's fleet, and secretly said in his heart, I guessed it.

These people must be hiding and waiting for me to attack the port and make a sneak attack from behind.

Although this kind of firepower does not pose much of a threat to the ironclads, it is coming......

"Spread My Will ......"

Bang!

Before the words fell, there was a sound.

Zhu Qizhen was surprised to find that the first cannon was actually fired from the port battery.

It's just that this run didn't hit, because the range was not enough, and the shell flew halfway and fell into the sea.

Damn, it's too much of a deception!

Zhu Qizhen seemed to feel humiliated, and said angrily: "Open the cannon, bombard the damn!" ”