The Hangzhou Bay Navy turned out in full force. After all, this was the first battle against the Wokou since the reconstruction of the Ming Destiny Navy. The political significance of this battle was far greater than the essence of the battle itself. The officers, flag soldiers, sailors, squad leaders, officers, helmsman, and officers were all in position. The army rode the wind and waves towards the area where Han Wu and the Wokou had met.
Half of the sailors were from the original navy and the other half were newly trained soldiers. There were also a few of Peng Fugui's trusted subordinates scattered on the various warships.
At this moment, Peng Fugui was also burning with anxiety. The three warships were led by Captain Han Wu, and the vice captain was his youngest son, Peng Xiaobao. This was the youngest son of Old Master Peng's ninth concubine, and he was only 18 years old this year. Although he had been influenced by his father since he was a child, and had learned to fight on the water from his father, after all, he had never led an army alone.
Peng Fugui didn't provoke the Japanese pirates easily. He would only rob them when a small group of pirates was alone. In order to avoid trouble, all the pirates he captured were thrown into the sea and their corpses were destroyed. Thus, he didn't know the true strength of the Japanese pirates.
The blue sea stretched as far as the eye could see. The seagulls flew back into the blue sky. More than 30 warships, with the number two boat at the center, cut through the waves and sailed southeast. Three sentry boats with three masts and three sails led the fleet in a zigzag formation.
Because the wind was blowing from the sea to the land, the warships could not move in a straight line against the wind. They had to move diagonally at a certain angle to borrow the wind and change directions in order to go around the scene of the incident. Therefore, the direction the fleet was heading in was quite different from where Han Wu and the others were practicing.
On the commander's ship, the helmsman on duty focused on maintaining the direction of the sun and adjusting the position of the ship. The squad leader used the star control board to calculate the latitude and longitude of the horizon. The flag bearers continuously raised and lowered all kinds of signal flags according to orders. They directed the entire fleet to steer, control the sails, adjust the position, and correct the course in an orderly manner.
Yang Ling stood on the commander's ship and watched as Guard Ceng and Peng Fugui continuously gave all kinds of orders. He was extremely anxious. Although the entire Hangzhou Navy fleet had been deployed in full strength, so even if they encountered danger, they would be able to ensure the safety of the ship, Yang Ling was the imperial envoy. Gu Daeyong and Bai Zhongzan were not willing to take the risk, so they strongly opposed letting him go out to sea with the ship.
Yang Ling also knew that it didn't matter whether he went out to sea or not, but Young-niang's second brother was on those three ships. Young-niang had a deep bond with her brother. If anything happened to Han Wu, and Young-niang was pregnant, the consequences would be dire.
Furthermore, the naval battle this time was of great significance. Not only did it affect whether or not the opening of the sea ban could be carried out smoothly, but Yang Ling knew that although they had the Emperor's full support, the Imperial Court had invested all they could. Right now, it was all up to the coastal merchants to raise capital. If the navy suffered a heavy setback, it would deal a blow to their confidence. They would withdraw their capital and withdraw their shares to wait and see.
Thus, Yang Ling made up his mind. If Han Wu's three ships had been destroyed, then even if he used the strength of the entire fleet, he had to defeat this group of Wokou pirates and reverse the passive political situation. If he wasn't on the ship to supervise the battle, it was difficult to guarantee that the Hangzhou Navy would be willing to put their lives on the line. Thus, Yang Ling was determined to go his own way. He left Cheng Qiyun and the others, as well as Gu Daeyong and Bai Zhongzan, in the middle of the army, and he himself went out to sea with the ship.
The fleet once again turned and approached the training grounds. The nine-masted Fu ship sped up with full sails. Behind it, six seven-masted, 14-sail, pointy-bottomed battleships followed closely. Behind them, the horse boats and flat-bottomed sand boats also arranged themselves into battle formations.
The three sentry ships sailed far ahead. The clear sky provided excellent visibility. Standing at the bow of the ship, there was not a single trace of a ship on the blue waves. Yang Ling couldn't keep his cool any longer. He couldn't resist walking to the bow of the ship and leaning on the railing, he gazed into the distance.
The three sentry ships in front of him had clearly slowed down. They spread out in a line to search for traces of ships from both sides.
"Captain Peng, this is the body of water? Why … why can't I see a single ship? "Yang Ling's voice trembled slightly as he asked.
Peng Fugui saw that there was no trace of a ship on the sea and actually relaxed. Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Sir, it's good that we can't find any traces. Perhaps Captain Han has already shaken off the Wokou ships. Let's continue searching ahead."
Hearing this, Yang Ling's heart relaxed. At this moment, someone shouted, "Look at the sea. There are wooden planks on the sea."
Hearing this, Yang Ling, Guard Ceng, and Captain Peng hurriedly walked over. Holding onto the railing of the ship, they looked out at the sea. The undulating waves carried a few pieces of broken wooden planks. Seeing this, Peng Fugui's expression changed. "It's planks. A ship has sunk!"
Hearing this, Yang Ling's heart sank. Guard Ceng turned his head and shouted, "Slow down! Lower the sails!"
At this moment, the surface of the water faintly undulated and carried a few more corpses. The officers held their breaths as they nervously stared at the indistinct figures in the water. The speed of the ships slowed down. A flat-bottomed sand boat emerged from the crowd and passed between two large ships. Using a long hook, it hooked onto a corpse. Then, it shouted towards the commander's ship, "Sir, these are Wokou pirates. They're not one of us."
Actually, even if he didn't say it, Yang Ling and the others could see clearly from their clothing. Looking at the nearby corpses, based on their clothing, they didn't look like Ming Destiny's soldiers either. They couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
In front of them, a sentry boat circled back and hooked onto the railing of the lower deck of the big boat. After securing it in place, it boarded a sampan. Barefooted, a baihu jumped onto the undulating sampan and quickly walked over. This person was Peng Fugui's trusted aide for many years. Naturally, his water skills were extraordinary.
He climbed onto the second level of the battery and bowed to Yang Ling, Guard Ceng, and Peng Fugui. "Sir, we've searched the nearby sea. We couldn't find Captain Han or the Wokou's warships. We found over 40 corpses on the surface of the sea. They were all Wokou people."
Peng Fugui's eyes flashed as he shouted, "Captain Han's three warships have just left the Longjiang Shipyard. They are easily recognizable. Have you checked the broken planks on the surface of the water to see if they are Captain Han's new warships?"
The baihu was stunned and stammered, "This …"
Peng Fugui angrily said, "Useless! What are you waiting for? "
Seeing that his boss was angry, the baihu hurriedly acknowledged and scrambled back to the sentry boat. He ordered the soldiers to retrieve the planks on the surface of the water. After checking, the color of the planks was old and the wood was not the southern hardwood that Han Wu's warships used. At this point, Yang Ling was relieved. He guessed that Han Wu had already escaped with his warships when he saw that the situation was not good.
He immediately ordered the warships to move forward at full sail. The fleet formed a formation and searched the sea. After traveling for about five nautical miles, the soldier in charge of the sentry boat suddenly shouted, "Attention! The sentry boat in front has sent back a message. There are warships in front! There are warships in front!"
The flag bearer immediately gave the order to the various warships. The soldiers on the sentry boat also became nervous. The cannoneers took their positions. Yang Ling, Guard Ceng, and the rest climbed up to the observation deck and looked into the distance. They could vaguely see the silhouette of a warship in the distance.
After a while, the soldier on the sentry boat shouted again, "Your Excellency, the sentry boat has sent a message. Cancel the state of alert. Cancel the state of alert."
Yang Ling and the rest were confused. They held their breaths and waited for the two parties to get closer. They saw the three sentry ships heading back in a triangular formation, the sails flapping behind them. Two large ships in front and three to five large ships were in hot pursuit. Guard Ceng was shocked and immediately ordered, "Prepare for battle. Flank them from the left and right."
The formation of the sentry boat gradually turned into a crescent moon as it headed towards the ships in front of it. At this point, it could be seen that the two ships behind the three sentry boats had the Eight Banners Bodhisattva painted on their sails. This was the symbol of the Wokou's warships. Guard Ceng hurriedly gave the signal. With the sentry boat as the center, the entire fleet began to change course slightly to the two sides. The side of the ship that was equipped with cannons faced the enemy ships.
However, the message sent back by the soldiers on the observation deck was still to cancel the state of battle. Fortunately, the cannons were not accurate beyond 200 meters and their damage was limited. Although the two warships could see clearly, they were still unable to exchange fire. Guard Ceng did not know the purpose of the sentry boat's message. He ordered the fleet to get into the most advantageous position and sent a communication boat to meet the sentry boat. He had already obtained accurate information.
Peng Fugui's old eyes were very sharp. At this time, he also saw that the situation was not right. He pointed to the opposite side and shouted, "Your Excellency, look, the flags of the three warships behind the two Wokou's warships … they are Ming Destiny's warships and Han Qianhu's warships."
Yang Ling and the rest looked up and saw that the two warships were getting closer. The flags of the three warships at the back were indeed Ming Destiny's military flag. The flag of the ship in the middle was impressively a Han character.
Seeing this, Guard Ceng immediately ordered the army to stay where they were and wait for battle. The two Wokou ships also lowered their sails and quietly anchored on the sea. Then, they raised the surrender flag that was commonly used among pirates.
Seeing this, Peng Fugui laughed and said excitedly, "Your Excellency, our warships are safe and sound. These two Wokou ships must have been captured by Master Han."
Hearing this, Yang Ling almost bit his tongue. Han Wu only had three warships and 500 new soldiers, while the other side had 11 warships and 1,300 to 1,400 Wokou pirates. Not only did Han Wu not lose or escape, but he also captured two of the enemy's ships. Was this even possible? But if the situation in front of him was not like this, how could it be explained?
The fleets of both sides quietly anchored on the sea, facing each other. Of the scouting ships that rushed back, two separated to the left and right, lying between the two fleets. The third sentry ship quickly approached the commander's ship. When Yang Ling saw the commander standing at the bow of the ship, he could not help but let out a long sigh of relief. That person was Han Wu.
When Yang Ling was transferred back to the capital last year, Han Wu had arranged for Ma Ang to take over his position and take up a post in the navy. After more than half a year of training on the sea, Han Wu's originally somewhat dark face had become even darker. The sea breeze and the sun had also made his skin rougher. He kept a short beard and looked more mature.
When he boarded the ship and saw Yang Ling, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. But after these days of training, Han Wu's steadiness was clearly moving closer to his older brother Han Wei's. He suppressed the joy of seeing his family and solemnly saluted Yang Ling and Guard Ceng according to the military etiquette.
Yang Ling hurriedly pulled him back and said, "There is no need to be in such a hurry to salute. Official Han, what exactly happened? We heard that your ship encountered the Wokou pirates. The enemy outnumbered us and we were afraid that it would be extremely dangerous, so Official Ceng and I led the navy fleet to rush over as reinforcements. It seems that you have even captured two of the enemy's ships. How are the casualties on our side? "
Guard Ceng knew the relationship between Yang Ling and Han Wu. Seeing this, he smiled happily and said, "It is good that our soldiers and warships are fine. Sir, let us enter the cabin and sit down. Official Han can explain the situation in detail."
Yang Ling nodded his head repeatedly. Everyone returned to the living room of the ship and sat down. Only then did Han Wei explain the situation in detail.
As it turned out, Han Wei and Peng Xiaobao were practicing martial arts on the sea. Suddenly, more than ten Wokou warships appeared on the sea. Han Wei saw that he didn't have time to turn the bow of his ship and retreat, so he immediately ordered his men to take a small boat to report the situation. He himself gathered three warships and charged towards the Wokou ships.
The commander of the warships, Han Wei, was an extremely aggressive person. The deputy commander, Peng Xiaobao, was a newborn calf and full of vigor. He was also used to fighting and killing by the side of the Shark King Peng Fugui. The two of them were determined to fight and led five hundred newly trained soldiers to brazenly attack the Wokou pirates. This caused the commander of the Wokou pirates, Nine Ghosts and One Hero, to be overjoyed.
The Japanese Empire was very strict in eliminating pirates. The power of the Ōuchi and Xichuan families was not something that these Wokou pirates could handle. They lived on the islands near the Japanese Empire, and their supplies and military supplies were also dependent on the Japanese Empire. As a result, they were easily defeated. The various Wokou pirates had no choice but to call their friends and come to the Ming Destiny that they could do whatever they wanted.
Nine Ghosts's fleet of eleven warships was made up of three groups of Wokou pirates. They had a small conflict with the Wokou pirates that had already occupied a small island. Because they didn't have the ability to defeat that group of Wokou pirates, Nine Ghosts could only lead his men to continue searching for a new foothold on the sea.
The Wokou pirates did not need to prepare too many supplies, so they rarely went around the vicinity of Korea. Instead, they directly came to Ming Destiny from the Japanese Empire. They had always used war to raise their soldiers. Now that Nine Ghosts had been on the sea for a few days, he had almost finished eating and drinking. He saw that the Ming army only had three warships and thought that they could win in one fell swoop. Not only would they be able to obtain a large amount of supplies, but they might also be able to obtain these three large warships to increase their own strength. So when he saw the Ming army charging towards them, it was exactly what he wanted and he immediately ordered his warships to fight.
However, Ichio had underestimated the combat power of the Ming Destiny navy. In the past, they had occasionally encountered the Ming Destiny navy head-on. The reason why the Ming Destiny navy had lost in terms of courage and morale wasn't because they were not as good as the Ming Destiny navy. However, Han Wu's three warships did not have these problems.
Although there were some famous people who secretly supported the Wokou pirates, they themselves were unable to cope with the pressure of armaments, so it was impossible for them to provide large amounts of weapons to the pirates. So the Wokou pirates' weapons were mainly made through smuggling and underground factories. In this way, they did not have the ability to obtain large scale weapons with complex equipment.
The Wokou pirates' main weapons were spears and knives. Because Japan did not use coal to smelt iron, they also did not need to pour steel. Instead, they used carburizing steel. The blacksmiths were excellent, so the quality was better than Ming Destiny's. The Wokou pirates' long-range weapon was the Japanese bow. This type of bow was made from bamboo and wood. It saved a lot of effort to pull it open and it could also shoot heavy arrows. Its killing power was higher than the Ming army's light arrows. However, because of the limited materials, it was extremely difficult to maintain them on the sea. So there were not many of them.
As for armor, not to mention metal armor, even leather armor was only worn by the leaders. Cannons were even rarer. They could only use the Ming army's spoils of war to satisfy their cravings after conquering a city or stronghold, or after defeating the official army.
Han Wu's three huge warships were made from high quality teak wood. The planks of the ship could be used for at least 60 years, so the entire ship was exceptionally sturdy. The Wokou pirates' warships were purely crudely made. Because of their limited financial resources and factories, they could not afford to use large ships. Mainly, they used fast merchant ships and imitation sedan ships. These ships could move quickly to avoid the warships and were suitable for entering shallow and inland waters. However, because they were small, they could not go up against large ships and were even more difficult to defend against the attacks of firearms. They were more suitable for carrying people, but were not suitable for water battles.
Thus, Mister Nine Ghosts and Kazuo, who wielded high quality steel knives, rode more than 10 broken ships, and a few long-range weapons. Just like the Boxers against the Eight-Nation Alliance, they quickly realized the huge difference in strength between the two sides.
Just as they were excitedly rushing towards the nervous Ming navy, a hundred and forty paces away, the twenty-six cannons on the Ming warships roared and opened fire. The first two battleships immediately scattered and became a pile of planks on the sea. The Wokou that didn't die all fell into the water.
The other Wokou pirates took advantage of the fact that their ships were fast and light, while the Ming ships were large and difficult to maneuver. At the same time, it was difficult to move the cannons. They avoided the cannons and went into a blind spot to close in on Han Wu's three warships. Separated by 70 paces, the sky was filled with fire arrows and a few more Wokou ships caught fire.
The enraged Wokou tried to extinguish the fire as they yelled and forced their ships to close in. When they were just 40 paces away, the Ming warships shot out streams of fire. This type of powerful bamboo fuel could shoot out 100 meters with the wind. Hundreds of 'flamethrowers' caused the three Wokou ships that had just been hit by the fire arrows to burst into flames. For a moment, thick smoke filled the air.
Taking this opportunity, Peng Xiaobao ordered his warships to leave the circle of battle. They circled around to increase the distance between them and once again used their firearms to launch long-range attacks. The pitiful Wokou ships had countless pirates who were not afraid of death. They were hopping mad on the ships but had no place to use their weapons.
The three Wokou ships with their sails on fire were unable to move and became live targets. They were mercilessly destroyed by the Ming cannons. The remaining six Wokou ships saw that the situation was not good and immediately turned to escape.
Han Wu and Peng Xiaobao's killing intent was ignited. They ordered the three warships to chase after the six Wokou ships. At this time, the Wokou did not have a single weapon that could attack the Ming warships. The Ming army's morale was greatly boosted but the Wokou ships were very fast. Other than the three Wokou ships that had caught fire and were forced to stop on the sea, the other three ships escaped and quickly left the Ming army behind.
When Han Wu's three warships closed in on the Wokou ships that had lowered their sails to put out the fire, the Wokou pirates were still stubbornly resisting. If they could capture the Wokou alive as captives, it would naturally have a better effect on the morale of the army. Therefore, Han Wu ordered the cannons to stop firing. At 70 paces, the warships used fire arrows. At 40 paces, they used flamethrowers. At 20 paces, they used javelins. When the two ships got close, they threw fire bricks and thunderbolts at them.
With this kind of multi-layered weapon attack within a hundred paces, the Wokou people on the deck could not even stand, let alone fight back. One of the Wokou ships was blown up by a barrel of gunpowder that the Ming army had thrown into the hold. The ship was swept into the abyss by the surging seawater. The other two Wokou ships shot a few arrows and were forced to surrender.
Under the deterrence of Han Wu's warships, the Wokou pirates obediently extinguished their fires. They took out spare sails from their cabins and put them on. They were then escorted all the way in the direction of Ming Destiny, where they met Yang Ling's rescue fleet.
Yang Ling, Ceng Jianxiong, and the rest of the group laughed in surprise after hearing Han Wu's introduction. Yang Ling said joyfully, "That is to say, our navy has sunk six pirate ships, captured two, and suffered no damage to any warships? Haha, good! Good! What are the casualties among the soldiers? "
Han Wei smiled bitterly and said, "Soldiers … none died. Only forty or so were injured."
Ceng Jianxiong comforted him and said, "Master Han, you used three warships against eleven Wokou ships. Five hundred new soldiers against one thousand two hundred and three hundred pirates. To be able to achieve a complete victory is already a great achievement. Only forty or so soldiers were injured. It is really not a big deal."
Han Wei shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Master, of the forty or so people who were injured, other than one who was injured by the Wokou's bow and arrow, the rest … were all injured for the first time in battle. Some fell off the deck, some were injured, but none of them were injured by the Wokou pirates. It looks like our navy is still lacking in battle experience. If the Wokou pirates had powerful warships and cannons, it would be difficult to predict the outcome …"
* * *
The news of the Ming navy's first victory against the Wokou pirates spread quickly. For a moment, the people of Su and Hang, and even the entire Jiangnan, were overjoyed. The aristocrats and celebrities sent their condolences to the army.
However, just as the news of the great victory was sent to the capital, the Wokou pirates that arrived along the coast of Ming Destiny took advantage of the thousands of miles of coastline that could not be defended. They sneaked ashore and began to invade.
Thousands of Wokou ships covered the sea and arrived. Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, thousands of miles of coastline sounded the alarm at the same time. The Wokou pirates that came ashore were like fierce tigers.
On the seventh day of the fourth month, the Wokou pirates attacked Zhejiang's Chang Guowei. On the same day, another three groups of Wokou pirates attacked Taicang County and Zhapu. They plundered Pinghu, Haiyan, Haining and other places and killed hundreds of soldiers. On the ninth day of the fourth month, a large group of Wokou pirates attacked Shanghai, Zhapu, Jiangyin and other places.
On the tenth day of the fourth month, the Wokou pirates attacked Rongcheng in Shandong and killed the county magistrate Lu Jiacheng. They plundered and collected civilian boats. They went south along the coast into Jiangsu and met up with another group of Wokou pirates. They used spies to set up an ambush at Sheyang and defeated the soldiers of the Imperial Guards. One thousand and six hundred Ming soldiers were ambushed by five hundred Wokou pirates. More than four hundred died. The defeated soldiers hurriedly crossed the river and another three hundred people trampled on each other or drowned.
The commander of the Imperial Guards, Chen Jingkuan, was killed. The Wokou's morale was great. In the next three days, several groups of Wokou pirates attacked Daozhou, Taixing, Haining, Jiaxing and Yangzhou. The Ming Imperial Guards chased them from the front and blocked them from the back. They lost more than they won. Yangzhou's Qianhu Hongxing, Taixing's Qianhu Wenyou and Ningde's General Feng Zhigong all died in battle.
The commanders of various places were unsuccessful in suppressing the pirates. The Wokou used the spies they bought to avoid the enemy's strong points and attack their weak points. Urgent military reports flew to the capital like snowflakes.
The Emperor of Zhengde was furious. On the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month, he sent an imperial edict from eight hundred miles away. He ordered the imperial envoy Yang Ling to urgently oversee the military affairs in Zhejiang, Zhili, Shandong, Guangdong and Fujian. He was to take charge of suppressing the pirates. He was also given the Emperor's sword.
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