Gaia Year 3, February 25th, Beihai Port.
After ten days of preparation, the fleet that was going to search for the treasures of Beihai Bay was finally ready to set sail. The expedition was led by Navy Governor Zheng He. Each of the three fleets would send a team to participate in the battle, forming the Alliance Fleet.
The allied fleet consisted of more than 300 warships, including 20 large towering ships and 150 cannons. There were a total of 36,000 officers and soldiers participating in the battle, and 38,000 sailors and other support personnel.
The commander-in-chief of the Cliff Mountain Fleet, Cai Mao, the commander-in-chief of the Beihai Bay Fleet, and the commander-in-chief of the Jiaozhou Fleet, Smoke Demon, were all dispatched.
The three generals had to thank Zheng He for this expedition.
Zheng He's recruitment mission to Quanzhou was unusually smooth, even exceeding expectations. In just three days, Zheng He brought more than 200 experienced navigators and more than 2,000 high-level sailors from Quanzhou.
In addition, Zheng He also recruited a group of navy generals, including five high-ranking generals, eighteen mid-ranking generals, and forty-five low-ranking generals.
In an instant, the quality of the Nanyang Navy's generals was improved by two levels.
That was not all. After bringing the people back and settling them down, Zheng He set off again to Jianye to carry out a similar recruitment mission. Although it was not as fruitful as the one in Quanzhou, it was still fruitful.
Zheng He's two missions had undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for the expansion of the Nanyang Navy. Next, as long as ordinary sailors and soldiers were recruited and trained, the three fleets would be at full strength.
A conservative estimate would be that it would take half a year.
Zheng He's name spread like wildfire, establishing the authority of the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Navy.
…
At the Beihai Bay Dock, Dragon Head was like a king, standing out among the other warships.
Considering the practical needs, Ouyang Shuo had already handed over his flagship, Dragon Head, to Zheng He to use as the flagship of the Nanyang Navy. As for Ouyang Shuo, he was no longer assigned a specialized flagship.
After the cannons were modified, Dragon Head could be said to be one of the most powerful warships in ancient China. The entire ship was equipped with 20 cannons, as well as all kinds of firearms such as flintlocks and rockets.
It could be said that apart from the future ironclad warships, Dragon Head was the strongest warship on the sea. The cost of modification alone was more than 50,000 gold coins. If the Dragon Head was auctioned, it would probably fetch a sky-high price.
Ouyang Shuo would accompany the fleet on this expedition because it might involve disputes between countries, so he could make decisions at any time.
Of course, Ouyang Shuo wouldn't interfere with the specific command of the battle. It was up to Zheng He to decide.
At nine o 'clock in the morning, after paying respects to Mazu, the fleet immediately left the port.
Taking advantage of the winter monsoon, the fleet rode the wind and waves all the way to the nameless island marked on the treasure map. The entire North Bay had long since been cleansed by the North Bay Fleet. Not a single pirate organization dared to enter the North Bay. Otherwise, they would be mercilessly attacked by the fleet.
Affected by this, the northern coast of Annan had been calm recently, and there were no more pirate attacks.
The location marked on the treasure map is located in the sea between Anhai County and Rongping County, less than 100 nautical miles from the Annan coastline.
To the north of the two counties was Hanoi, the only capital of the Annan District.
When the fleet approached the coast of Annan, the first thing they encountered was the fishing boats of Annan. To these fishermen, they had not seen the pirates for several months, so they were naturally defenseless.
Seeing such a huge fleet, they couldn't help but be shocked and dodge to the side.
The fleet ignored the fishing boats and continued to approach.
Finally, about 150 nautical miles away from the coastline, they encountered the enemy's navy fleet.
Nearly half of the border of the Annan District was the coastline. Therefore, there were an unusually large number of player lords who built cities near the sea. They were scattered all over the long coastline.
For these lords, the coastal waters were also a part of their territory. Therefore, more or less, they would set up a navy to patrol the surrounding sea and protect the safety of the fishermen.
Previously, these navy had also met the North Bay Fleet. However, Pei Donglai strictly followed Ouyang Shuo's instructions and did not take the initiative to provoke trouble.
The two sides were in harmony.
This time, the situation was obviously very different.
In order to find the treasure, the joint fleet must approach the sea of these territories.
For the lords, this was undoubtedly a provocation.
The Lord Flag of Shanhai City, the Golden Dragon Flag, and the Sea Dragon Flag of the Shanhai City Navy were not unfamiliar to the navy of Annan.
As soon as the joint fleet approached, the navy on the opposite side began to wave the flag signal. The general idea was that if they went any further, they would enter their territory and without permission, they were not allowed to enter.
"Marquis?"
On the Dragon Head, Zheng He asked Ouyang Shuo for instructions.
"Tell them that we didn't mean to offend them. We're just passing by to do a mission. Once the mission is completed, we'll leave immediately. "Ouyang Shuo's original intention was to find the treasure.
As for the war between nations, it was better not to provoke it if possible.
"Yes!"
After receiving the reply, Zheng He immediately ordered the flag bearers to wave the flag signal.
Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo's goodwill was obviously not trustworthy in the eyes of the other side. Even Ouyang Shuo, who didn't understand flag signal, could feel the determination in the other side's flag signal.
"What did they say?" Ouyang Shuo's tone was somewhat gloomy.
"Reporting to the Marquis, the other side still insists that we are not allowed to enter without permission. Their attitude is extremely unyielding," Zheng He replied.
Ouyang Shuo shook his head and slightly smiled. "They refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Since that's the case, we'll directly attack and sink any ship in front of the fleet as punishment. "
"Marquis, this …" Zheng He was somewhat hesitant.
In history, the main purpose of Zheng He's seven voyages to the West was not the so-called ocean trade, nor was it the colonization that the West was good at. Instead, it was to make the small nations rush to the capital to pay their respects to the Ming Emperor in the name of the Celestial Empire.
The purpose was to create a scene of ten thousand nations coming to pay homage to the Emperor.
Every time he went to the West, it was a heavy burden on the national treasury. Sending out large amounts of gold, silver, and jewels was only exchanged for the courtesy of some small nations.
His actions could be said to be a loss.
After Ming Chengzu passed away, Ming Renzong immediately called a halt to his voyages to the West.
Precisely because of this, in Zheng He's philosophy, peace was the most important thing. Among his seven voyages to the West, other than fighting pirates, there were probably no more than five recorded battles.
Therefore, Zheng He was somewhat unaccustomed to Ouyang Shuo's straightforwardness.
Ming Chengzu was wealthy and ambitious, so Ouyang Shuo couldn't comment on it. But he was different. He was a pragmatist through and through.
In order to achieve his goal, he didn't hesitate to bathe the world in blood.
Moreover, this was a game, a wilderness destined to be filled with the flames of war. There was a huge difference from history.
War was the theme of the wilderness to begin with.
The war in the game was just one of Gaia's war settings. It was only to increase the game's playability. In the Federation in reality, the global governments had long merged into one. There was no such thing as a regional nation.
"General!" Ouyang Shuo looked straight at Zheng He and said solemnly, "General, please remember this. This is the wilderness. There is no distinction between justice and injustice in war. There is only the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest."
Zheng He's face froze as he barely replied, "As the Marquis commands!"
When Ouyang Shuo saw this, he did not say another word.
To change a person's worldview and values was a gradual process. The search for the treasure was also a trial for Zheng He by Ouyang Shuo.
The future voyages would probably be more bloody and cruel than today's war.
Zheng He had to make changes.
If not, how could a good man, an envoy of peace, lead the strongest navy in the territory and realize Ouyang Shuo's ambition of dominating the seas!?
"Fire!" Zheng He turned around and gave the order.
"Yes, Sir!"
With the military order, the cannons roared.
"Boom!"
…
"Boom!"
…
The first round of cannons made Ouyang Shuo frown.
This was the first time the Nanyang Navy used cannons in a real battle, but the effect was shameful.
First of all, it was a mess. Over a hundred cannons, there was no proper arrangement of firepower at all, and they were firing randomly. Some places were densely packed with shelling, while some places were calm and tranquil.
Secondly, the accuracy of the cannons was frighteningly low. The cannoneers obviously did not understand the parameters of the cannons. Some cannons fired before they reached the firing range, and naturally hit the sea.
Some cannons did not aim well, and the cannons exploded on both sides of the enemy's ships.
Therefore, the first round of cannons looked very imposing and scared the navy so much that their faces turned pale. However, the actual damage was less than a dozen enemy ships that were hit.
Seeing this, Zheng He's face was full of shame.
"General, you don't have to be like this. It's not your fault." Ouyang Shuo comforted him.
Indeed, Zheng He had been running around since he joined Shanhai City, and he was still at the stage of understanding the navy. He did not have the time to really train the navy. The current fleet was only trained by the three commanders-in-chief.
"Don't worry, Marquis. Within half a month, this situation will definitely change." Even so, Zheng He still made a military pledge in front of the marquis.
As the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Navy, the fleet's poor performance made Zheng He feel ashamed.
"Then I'll wait and see!" Ouyang Shuo smiled slightly.
As the two talked and laughed, the second round of cannons began. With the previous example, the effect of this round was somewhat unsatisfactory. A total of twenty enemy ships were hit.
After two rounds of cannons, the enemy's navy was almost paralyzed.
Facing the sudden cannons, the enemy was obviously not prepared at all. They were directly hit and even forgot the basic counterattack.
At this moment, a system notification sounded in Ouyang Shuo's ears.
"System notification: Player Not Saying That Has No Clothes led troops to annihilate a navy fleet in the Annan District, triggering a national war. The Annan District has officially entered national war mode. Players, please be prepared! "
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