Steel Dynasty - Chapter 434

[Chapter 434 Intimidation]

On the vast sea, fifteen warships stretched end to end for more than a mile, filled with murderous intent.

For a moment, the enthusiasm of the Dutch seemed to be frozen by the cold wind from the north. It was obvious that the King of Qi they were facing was not a simple native.

“Damn it! Rhodes, you should have told me that there is a powerful fleet here.” Claire said frantically.

Fanaticism does not mean stupidity. Their battleships are all third-level sail battleships, but they have lost in terms of firepower, making them even more uncertain about how well trained this sudden fleet is?

Rhodes opened his mouth. He finally understood why King Qi would make such a rude request. The fleet in front of him explained everything.

“King Chu deceived us. King Chu must have done it on purpose.” Rhodes shouted angrily: “He hid everything from us just to let us fall into this trap.”

At this time, Sakai also saw the fleet on the sea through the telescope. , the warships of this fleet are not much different from European warships, but the warships are hoisted with flags with the characters of the Great Chongqing Kingdom.

The soldiers on the battleship were also dressed in the style of the Great Chongqing Kingdom. He was completely stunned when he saw this scene. If this was the fleet of the Great Chongqing Kingdom, it would be a disaster for them.

“Earl, it’s time for you to give the order.” Sakai reminded: “The more time you delay, the fewer opportunities you will have. Should we fight? Or retreat?”

Claire recovered from the shock. He looked to the left and right and seemed to be Thinking about a very difficult decision.

The news brought by Rhodes was very clear. King Qi of Dayu wanted Ryukyu and trade routes. If they could not reach an agreement, war would be inevitable, both now and in the future.

Looking at the approaching Chongqing army, Claire said: “We can’t fight this fleet here. We are running out of supplies. Now we should return to Ryukyu and destroy this fleet in the waters outside Ryukyu.”

Rhodes heard this .

He nodded, this was undoubtedly the right decision.

After the order was issued, a bell rang quickly on the ship. During the sound of the bell, the Dutch fleet slowly set sail towards Ryukyu.

At this time, on the King of Qi, Yue Yun was observing the Dutch fleet with a telescope.

He frowned when he saw the Dutch fleet escaping south. Due to the hasty battle, they did not have much supplies on board. If the Dutch fleet refused to fight and continued to flee south, it would be very detrimental to them. After all, from the landing It is a very long process to get from Zhouzhou to Ryukyu.

He looked towards the coast, where the army of Dayu had appeared. At this time, he saw the Qingzhou Army waving military flags and signaling “Do not pursue”.

Putting down the telescope, he ordered the crew: “Stop the pursuit.”

This order was exactly what Xiao Ming gave. The Dutch’s choice to retreat showed that they had no confidence in defeating him. He felt that the Dutch should be given time to think before deciding whether to accept him. conditions of.

If the Dutch still have a hard-boiled duck bill, he can only take the island by force to drive the Dutch out of the sea.

At the same time, one of the reasons why he asked Yue Yun not to pursue further was the supply problem. He knew that there was not much food for the soldiers on the battleship at this time, and it would be difficult to provide supplies without communication along the way.

Therefore, he needed to establish supply points along the coast and at the same time prepare the Qingzhou Army to launch an attack on Ryukyu. After all, in the era of sailing battleships, if the enemy was unwilling to fight, he would be caught in a chase.

Among sailing battleships, both the first-class sailing battleships and the second-class sailing battleships are not as flexible as the third-class sailing battleships. They will not have an advantage in the pursuit battle. If they directly attack Ryukyu Island, the Dutch fleet will have to accept the war.

“When will your Highness plan to attack Ryukyu?” Niu Ben said at this time. At the same time, he was relieved. At least the battle of Jizhou made King Qi understand the importance of logistics and did not let the fleet pursue rashly.

Xiao Ming said calmly: “Don’t worry, Ryukyu Island is just a cooked duck that cannot fly. Now we still need to wait for the Tiger Gun and field artillery from the military workshop, so as not to suffer a loss when the two armies fight.”

Niu Ben also saw It is a field gun mounted on wheels by the Dutch. This kind of artillery is short and thin, and has a small caliber, but it has to be said that it is very light.

On the battlefield, this kind of artillery has a longer range than a flintlock gun and is more powerful than a flintlock gun. It is indeed a good weapon.

“It’s time for Chen Qi to produce a batch of artillery pieces like this.” Niu Ben looked serious.

No general likes to play with the lives of his soldiers.

Xiao Ming originally thought that the Dutch would briefly engage his fleet and then retreat, but he did not expect that they would withdraw so decisively, which further reflected the Dutch’s guilty conscience.

Because the Dutch have no idea how many warships he has, but they know very well that they will not have reinforcements arriving.

Now, these Dutch people will probably be in panic all day long, worrying that he will launch an attack on Ryukyu day and night.

Looking at the disappearing Dutch warships, Xiao Ming and his party returned to Dengzhou City. The war could not begin until everything was ready. After returning this time, he would communicate with the King of Wei and the King of Chu and let them prepare for him along the coast. Leave a supply point behind.

Now that both the King of Wei and the King of Chu have the handle in his hands, they will definitely not dare to make any small moves.

Yue Yun led the fleet back to the military port quickly, and then he led a group of naval generals to the Dengzhou Chengfu Yamen.

“Your Highness, these Dutch are really fast.” Yue Yun said with a smile, “Our warship was chased so hard by them back then. It’s a pity that we didn’t give them a lesson.”

“There will be time for you to take revenge.” Xiao Ming said to Yue Yun: “But this time you may not be the opponent of the Dutch. Naval battles can’t be won just by being big. You have just taken over the warship and are not familiar with the things on it. From now on, you will stay here.” Conduct sea training in Dengzhou for three months. We will talk about naval battles when you are familiar with operating warships. Now let’s clean up the pirates nearby.”

When Xiao Ming said this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Yue Yun’s back. Xiao Ming was right. If there really was a fight this time, the outcome was still unknown. Although his soldiers knew how to control the battleship, they I am not familiar with new warships, especially large warships such as the first and second level, which are difficult to operate.

Looking ashamed, Yue Yun said: “Yes, Your Highness, the general will definitely lead the soldiers to train hard and form an army as soon as possible.”

Nodding, Xiao Ming said to Yang Chengye at this time: “Yang Governor, it is a big deal for you to Dengzhou now. Chances are, once Ryukyu is captured, your Dengzhou will become a maritime commercial port, which will be very beneficial to the development of Dengzhou.”

(End of Chapter)