A month later. South China Sea, above the ocean.

Although the sky was blue and very clear, the wind on the sea was not small, and even the three-masted gunship, which was more than 20 feet long, was hit by the tide when it was moving.

The Yellow Dragon Flag of the Great Ming Naval Division fluttered at the top of the mast, and Zhao Xuhai, the general manager of Qian, stood on the lookout platform at the front of the deck of the warship, looking at some small black dots that appeared from the sea in front of him, and his bearded face showed a solemn look.

In the last battle of Okura Island, Zhao Xuhai was sent to the city to deliver a letter, and then he was fortunate to get on the "Golden Jade" and experienced the battle with the opponent's flagship to seize the ship. And this expedition to Heilong Island, probably in view of Zhao Xu's brave performance in the first battle at sea, Admiral Shen Youlong actually appointed him as a pioneer officer, commanding the fifty warships of Benzhai to open the way at the front of the fleet, and he can be said to have a lot of trust in him, the thousand general of Tuolin Village.

Regarding Lord Shen's exceptional promotion, Zhao Xuhai's heart was more worried than happy.

Just half a month ago, this Mr. Zhao Qian had just married his relatives, and his wife was a wealthy lady in Chaozhou City, named Cui Fen. In the newlywed honeymoon, he received a handsome order and had to leave his wife to go on the expedition, Zhao Xuhai was extremely reluctant, and he was even more unwilling to die in battle.

If he wins this battle, of course he can be promoted and make a fortune, and his wife can also follow suit, but how powerful this group of pirates is, Zhao Xuhai, who has experienced the last naval battle, has already deeply realized that it is by no means comparable to those ordinary water robbers who only have three or two small broken boats in the offshore sea and can only bully fishermen and small businessmen. The people of the Dragon Palace are the real kings of the South China Sea, and they are superior to the imperial court sailors in terms of the number, size, and firepower of the warships.

Naval warfare is different from land warfare, and the ships that rush to the front must be the primary target of the enemy's artillery fire, and it is very likely that they will die before they can fight with such a strong enemy.

However, all the uneasiness can only be hidden in his heart, as the general of the Guangdong Realm Water Division, Zhao Xuhai has no choice but to act according to orders.

This expedition to Heilong Island, the scale of the ships sent by the Guangdong Naval Division is unprecedented, more than the last time he went to Okura Island, Admiral Shen Youlong mobilized all the naval forces of the six villages in the Guangdong Territory, and even the men and horses of Baishazhai in Qiongzhou, who did not participate in the war last time, also joined in, only the warships of the imperial court sailors have more than 200, and the soldiers on board are 10,000, and the warships of the "Wanjintang" in Okura City have more than 60 ships, including a giant dragon slaying ship.

Speaking of the dragon slaying ship, Zhao Xuhai was amazed when he first saw it. He originally thought that the giant shark ship he encountered last time was the largest warship on the sea today, but now this dragon slaying ship is not only larger and longer than the giant shark ship, but the firepower of the three hundred Western naval guns equipped on both sides is far more than that of the giant shark ship, and I heard that the keel of this giant ship is actually made of steel, which is simply incredible.

It's a pity that although the dragon slayer is too strong, it is the flagship of the Chinese army, and it can't protect the vanguard of the front team, Zhao Xuhai wants to save his life in the naval battle, and he has to rely on himself.

"Report to Mr. Qian! Twenty ships have been found ahead, twelve miles away from us, and the foremasts are all black dragon flags!" one of his soldiers came running to report.

"Before the two armies, call me General!" Zhao Xuhai's eyes widened, and he didn't have a good breath.

According to the custom in the Ming Dynasty, civilian officials and military attaches who governed local law and order were called "adults", while military attaches who commanded regular armies were called "generals". Of course, these titles are not very strictly distinguished, the Ming official system has always emphasized civil affairs over military force, and many military attachés who commanded the army were also civilian officials in the past, and were often called "adults". It was not until wars broke out in recent years that the status of military generals in the DPRK and China had risen, and the title of "general" seemed to be more majestic than that of "adult".

Zhao Xuhai has never learned literature, but is a genuine military attaché, and the Chaozhou Tuolin Water Village under his command is also a regular sailor, so it is said that he should be called a "general". It's just that over the years, the Yuejing Sailor has rarely experienced wars, and he, the Sailor Qianzong, has nothing to do, often mingling with the local squires of Chaozhou Mansion, and many people call him "Master Qianzong", and even the soldiers under him have heard a lot, so they are called smooth.

At this time, Zhao Xuhai was in a depressed mood, and when he heard the soldiers call him Lord, he immediately remembered the Lord Shen who recruited him back from his newlywed honeymoon, and he was not angry in his heart, and immediately reprimanded him.

The soldier didn't know which medicine this Master Qian had taken wrong today, but he was still obedient, and quickly changed his words: "Yes, General Zhao! Twenty ships of the 'Black Dragon Palace' were found twelve miles ahead!"

The pioneer battalion commanded by Zhao Xuhai had a total of 50 warships, including three three-masted gunboats, more than 10 medium-sized ships, and more than 30 small eagle ships. If it encounters the ships of the "Black Dragon Palace" brigade, Zhao Xuhai's vanguard battalion can only retreat and wait for reinforcements, but if there are only twenty enemy ships, it is not enough to be afraid.

"Twenty?" Zhao Xuhai muttered, "You can see clearly, there are only twenty enemy ships ahead?"

The soldier said: "Back to the general, you can see very clearly, there are only twenty. ”

Zhao Xuhai said: "Are there other ships on the surrounding sea?"

The soldier said, "If you go back to the general, I haven't seen any other ships within twenty miles of the neighborhood." ”

Today's weather is very good, the line of sight of the sentry at the top of the ship's mast is enough to overlook the sea dozens of miles away, and since the sentry has not seen other ships, it can be seen that the "Black Dragon Palace" is not ambushed around.

Zhao Xuhai nodded and said, "Go down!"

The soldier turned to leave, Zhao Xuhai took a deep breath, but said to a deputy general standing aside: "Vice General Sun, do you have a high opinion?"

This Sun Deputy General's name is Sun Li, he is Zhao Xuhai's seven-rank deputy general in Tuoyao Water Village, a young man of twenty-three or four-year-old, born very white, not as stout and burly as most soldiers, although he is not very old, he is quite cautious and serious, and he is very trusted by Zhao Xuhai.

Sun Li said: "According to the chart, we have approached the waters of Heilong Island, and hundreds of ships have come, but the other party has only sent twenty ships to meet the enemy, which seems a little strange. ”

Zhao Xuhai shook his head, and said with a smile: "I don't think it's strange, the pirates of the 'Black Dragon Palace' probably didn't expect us to attack in a big way, these ships must be the ships that the pirates usually patrol nearby, now as long as we rush over while they haven't reacted, we will definitely be able to take advantage!"

The task of the pioneer battalion was to open the way for the Chinese army, and the twenty pirate ships coming from the front were a good opportunity for meritorious service in Zhao Xuhai's view.

He turned his head and ordered: "Someone! Pass on my general's order, and the ships of the vanguard battalion will line up in an attack formation, ready to meet the enemy!"

In naval warfare, arrays are very important. The formation listed by Zhao Xuhai is the more common "fish head array" in the Daming naval division, that is, small fast ships in front, three three-masted ships are side by side in the center of the formation, and more than ten medium-sized ships are surrounded by the flagship in a semicircle, located at the rear of the formation, arranged in the shape of a fish head with a sharp front and a blunt back.

This "Fishhead Formation" is a naval battle formation that is both offensive and defensive, and the advantage is that it can concentrate the firepower of each ship when attacking, and it can also effectively protect one's flagship in the fisheye position when defending.

It didn't take long for the ships of the two sides to be less than ten miles apart, and from the deck, they could see the fleet of the "Black Dragon Palace" in front clearly, and Zhao Xuhai's heart had been completely put down. Most of the pirate ships on the other side were small sea falcons and centipede ships, with only two medium-sized loach ships mixed in, and no large ships, let alone giant shark ships, which he feared the most.

The difference in the number of ships between the two sides was more than double, and there were no large ships among the pirate ships, which were only scattered on the surface of the sea at this time, and there were no obvious formations listed, as if they were completely unprepared for this encounter.

"Order the ships, rush to kill me!" Zhao Xuhai's palm slapped the hilt of the waist knife and shouted loudly.

As long as the pirate fleet in front of him is defeated, Zhao Xuhai, as a pioneer officer, can make the first great contribution of this battle, although this general Zhao has not fought many battles, and his courage is not great, but after all, he is a genuine sailor Qianzong, and he will not let go of this opportunity to make meritorious contributions easily in front of him.

Sun Li, who was standing on the side, frowned, as if he wanted to speak out, but finally did not make a sound. Although the appearance of these more than 20 pirate ships was a bit strange, after all, the number was too small, and there was no ambush around, Sun Li also felt that the other party would never be able to defeat the fleet of more than 50 ships in the vanguard battalion.

The pirate ships, which were completely at a disadvantage, seemed to have just discovered the existence of the pioneer camp at this time, and they had no intention of fighting against each other, so they all turned their rudders and fled. And by the time the pirate ship turned its bow in a fraternity, the two ships were less than five miles apart.

"All ships fire their guns, hit me!" Zhao Xuhai ordered.

The distance of four or five miles was barely within the range of the artillery, and the guns on the ships of the naval division opened fire one after another, and in the roar, the fire flickered on the sea, and the smoke of gunpowder rose everywhere. The pirate ships, on the other hand, each pulled up their sails and began to speed up their flight.

Zhao Xuhai waved his hand: "Order! All boats speed up to catch up, don't let them run!"

Now the vanguard battalion has more ships than the other side, and the firepower is also fiercer than the other side, of course, there is no need to cower!

These pirate ships were scattered across the surface of the sea and looked disorganized, but after all, most of them were small ships, and they were not slow to escape. All of a sudden, twenty pirate ships were in front, and fifty ships of Zhao Xuhai's pioneer battalion were lined up, and a rally competition was launched on the sea.

With the help of the wind on the sea, both sides are driving at full speed. After a pillar of incense, the fifty ships of the pioneer battalion had chased out more than 30 miles, and the front end was about three miles away from the pirate ship, and the distance was much closer, but each ship fired a series of cannons, but most of them missed, only one or two cannons were lucky to hit, but not a single pirate ship was sunk.