"Boom~"

More than 1.5 million armies of the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states surrounded the city of Mumbai. More than a hundred divisions of artillery gathered together, and nearly 10,000 cannons poured majestic firepower into the city in non-stop turns.

Occasionally, there would be a salvo of ten thousand guns... The entire ground in Mumbai seemed to be trembling in unison to the rhythm of the Ming Dynasty artillery.

"This is how the *** soldiers must be used to be spectacular. What about Hou Fangyu?"

"General, why did you call me?"

"Scenes like this have been filmed, right?"

"It was captured, not just by cameras, but also by our newly developed cameras. Not only the artillery salvo here, but also the soldiers from the Battle of the Bay of Bengal to the large-scale landing at Kunyang Chixiao, we captured them all

.”

"Excellent. After you return, you must fully demonstrate Master Wang's bravery and invincibility to the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"Of course, please don't worry, General."

Time came to January 5, 1648. As the two army chiefs Cao and Liu arrived at the front line of Bombay, the Ming army's bombardment of Bombay became even more brutal.

"Hey, I have fought a lifetime of battles, and this victory is the most satisfying. But Lao Cao, you are wasting ammunition like this. After you go back, isn't that glutton of your Cao family going to fight for you?"

"Shit, originally, according to the Privy Council's idea, the attack on India would take at least three to five years. But the emperor's troops were so exquisitely arranged that he mobilized the Western bandits to such an extent that even a single mobile force could not be mobilized. Then it was estimated that the attack would last for at least three to five years.

The war that lasted for several years was over in less than a year. So many artillery shells were transported all the way from the mainland, and in addition, we confiscated countless ammunition from the West Army when we were chasing them in Bangladesh. These things are not shot out here.

Isn’t it possible to transport it back? I am saving money for Cao Sanxi!”

Cao Wenzhao's economical bombardment made the artillerymen of the Ming Dynasty feel more happy than ever before. But at this moment, Durunni, who was holding on to the city of Bombay, was really miserable.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese artillery seems to be endless. They have been shelling for five days. Mumbai's outer defense line has been completely destroyed. The ten Indian divisions on the defense line were either shattered by artillery or were destroyed by our governor.

The team has been killed, and in short, the outer defense line and the defensive soldiers are almost done."

"Got it." Nodding expressionlessly, Duleni turned around and said, "Sir Garcia, how long will it take for the navy to start helping us retreat."

"The night before yesterday, we dispatched a squadron to escort more than 300 transport ships, carrying the Ottoman Boris Group to sail to Persia. We just received a telegram from this fleet. Everything is going well, and we will be able to return to Bombay tomorrow afternoon at most.

At the same time, the 420,000 troops in the city have all been organized, and most of the more than 600 transport ships in the port have prepared food, fresh water, coal, etc. In short, tomorrow night, all army departments can board the ships in sequence."

"Thank you for the navy's efficient work, but I don't know where the Chinese navy is now?"

"Our destroyer has the farthest reconnaissance range and ventured as close as Colombo. We saw some Chinese destroyers along the way, but we never found the Chinese main fleet. I hope they are still in Yangon at this moment."

"I hope so." After making a cross on his chest, Duleni gently knocked on the table: "Everyone, according to the arrangement of the Navy, starting from 8 o'clock tomorrow, January 6th,

Each army will board the ship in order. I will personally lead a German division, a Lithuanian division and a Swedish division to your rear. I will give my greetings to the front. When boarding the ship, all armies must board the ship in order according to the pre-arranged order.

, fighting is strictly prohibited. If there are still people who ignore the overall situation in such a critical moment, I will have no choice but to shoot you first. Do you understand?"

"I obey your orders, Your Excellency."

However, just as the EU Army in Mumbai was preparing to escape, on the afternoon of January 5, Cao and Liu outside Mumbai received a telegram.

"This is a telegram sent by Admiral Inuyang through the transit station in Goa. They have crossed the Lakshadweep Islands and will definitely be able to reach the waters near Socotra Island one step ahead of the enemy fleet. We can start the attack."

"Okay, let's drive the enemy overboard."

Following Cao Liu's order, the Ming Dynasty artillery, which had been shelling for several days, finally took a break. But this break was a big bad news for the EU troops in Mumbai: it meant that the enemy's

The infantry attack is about to begin.

"Damn it! It's at this time. Mr. Garcia, we can no longer wait for the squadron that went to the Persian Gulf to come back. Please accept the army boarding immediately."

"Your Excellency Duleni, our transport ship is one-third short. If we board the ship at this time, it will be extremely crowded in the cabin. The key point is that there will be insufficient food and fresh water!"

"I can't control this. I only know that there are at least one million troops outside the city, and I only have three divisions with less than 50,000 people. Even if there are a few Indian soldiers on the outer defense line, even if this Mumbai

The city is actually on a small peninsula, which is very conducive to defense. But I can buy you three to five hours at most."

"...Well, I hope God will bless this trip smoothly. If there is insufficient fresh water and food, let's go to Socotra Island to replenish it." After saying this, he nodded to the naval officers behind him: "

Implement the 'Generator Plan' formulated by His Majesty Philip before returning to Europe."

"As you command, Your Excellency."

Following the orders of Duleni and Garcia, more than 300,000 EU troops began to pour in towards the transport ships in the port. At the same time, on the sea about two hundred kilometers southwest of Mumbai, a group of

A huge fleet flying the sun and moon flag is galloping westward.

The main fleet of the Ming Navy has now returned to its peak lineup of seven battleships, eighteen heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, and fifty-two destroyers. At the same time, there are more than twenty large supply ships of various sizes.

, and thirty transport ships carrying three marines traveled with the main fleet.

In order to conceal its strategic intentions, after the Ming Dynasty Navy set out to sea from Colombo Port, it first went directly south to the waters surrounding the Maldives, and then turned westward. After replenishing fresh water on the Lakshadweep Islands for the last time, it sent electricity to Cao Liu to let the army

Use force to drive the EU Army into the sea.

Among the Ming Dynasty's current battleships, the Lian Po, which was damaged in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, has been repaired and returned to the fleet, but the Cao Sanxi, which was severely damaged, is still on the Yangon slipway. The reason why the Ming Dynasty has

The Navy still has seven battleships. Of course, this is because the Shi Huangdi, which has a full load displacement of more than 20,000 tons, is equipped with a 320mm main gun, and whose power system has been changed from burning coal to burning heavy oil, finally arrived at the last moment when the Navy was about to launch a large-scale deployment.

Rangoon, joined the battle.

However, this warship is still too new after all. Even the so-called sea trials were completed while driving from the Changsha Shipyard. Therefore, Inukai Tongji thought about it again and again and still did not choose the First Emperor as his flagship.

, he still placed the fleet headquarters on the Lian Po.

"Reporting to the commander, Captain Cao Bianpeng on the First Emperor sent a signal: 'Everything on our ship is normal', uh..."

"What's wrong?"

"The First Emperor's light signal also said later, Commander, the air conditioning of this new ship is very powerful, the freezer capacity is large, and the dishes are kept very fresh. You really don't want to sit here..."

"This guy is really boring." After waving his hand and interrupting the staff's reading, Inukai Touji looked at the chart: "How long do we have until we reach the waters near Socotra?"

"Commander, we are still 1,800 kilometers away from Socotra Island at this time. At the current speed of 16.5 knots maintained by our fleet, taking into account the latitude difference, we will arrive at Socotra Island within 60 hours."

"What about the enemy fleet?"

"According to the telegram sent by the commander to the army, it will take the army about three to five hours to drive the enemy into the sea. The enemy will set sail in about four to five hours. They are about 1,950 kilometers away from Socotra Island.

Because of the drag of the transport ship, this speed cannot be increased. If we calculate based on the average speed of 9 knots when our transport ship is fully loaded, the enemy should appear near Socotra Island in 118 hours."

"In other words, we have two and a half days longer than the enemy?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Hmm..." After staring at the sea chart and thinking for a long time, Inukai Touji said: "What I successfully proposed before is not to fight the enemy in the waters of Mumbai, but to ambush the enemy near Socotra, on the enemy's only road.

In the plan, our army wanted to occupy Socotra Island first, and then intercept the enemy. However, after repeated deductions by the staff department, we found that if Socotra Island has a radio station, it would be easy to occupy the island.

But it is impossible to prevent the enemy on the island from sending telegrams before occupying the island. Therefore, the new plan proposed by the staff is: not to occupy the island first, but to ambush the enemy first. After the naval battle is over,

Occupy the island. I think this refined plan is more feasible."

"Yes, Commander. Although the Marine Corps cannot show off its skills, the general also believes that it is more feasible to fight a naval battle first and then seize the island."

"Well, thank you General Zhang for your cooperation." After nodding to Zhang Hong, Inukai Toji said to the officers below: "Have you calculated the enemy's escort strength?"

"Commander, based on the summary after the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the enemy's major general captured after we occupied Colombo, and the recent intelligence obtained by the destroyers' adventurous approach to Mumbai for reconnaissance. We believe that if the Ottomans

Without the support of the fleet, the Spanish navy still has five battleships, 18 heavy cruisers (replenished by the European Union after the Bay of Bengal Battle), and more than 80 light cruiser destroyers."

"If you expect the enemy to be lenient, even if Osman wants to come to support you."

"Yes, since no Ottoman naval officers have become prisoners of our army, so after interrogating the Ottoman army officers, we can barely understand the Ottoman navy. In last year's naval battle in the Bay of Bengal, the Ottoman Berkel and

The Umer was severely damaged and will not be able to sail in the short term. The only one that may participate in the war is the third Ottoman Khalifa-class battleship, the Osman Ibn Affan."

"If you calculate it like this, the enemy has six battleships. It seems that the gap with our army is not big. But..." Inukai Touji smiled: "Isn't the enemy's transport ship more than a thousand?"

"Commander, the structure of our Marine Division is similar to that of the Army. Four infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, plus a division headquarters, 15,000 people. But with just this number of people, plus equipment and other things, we must have ten ships

Only a transport ship of more than 8,000 tons can carry it and ensure that there is no problem with supplies within 20 days. The number of people the Western bandits retreated this time is over 300,000, right? Even if this retreat does not require heavy equipment and only people, but this person is on board

You have to eat, drink, and relax a little while on board the ship, and you have to have a certain amount of space to move around. No matter how you calculate it, there cannot be any less transport ships with a displacement of 1.5 million tons. If each transport ship is about 8,000 tons, there will be more than 200 transport ships.

"

"Commander Zhang, according to the information obtained by the navy, there are enemy transport ships of more than 8,000 tons, but not many. Most of them are two to three thousand tons."

"That's even better. You are all in the navy, so you naturally know that. If a ship is to be sailed, if it is a civilian ship, the difference in the number of sailors required between three thousand tons and eight thousand tons is actually not very big. This is

It is said that the carrying capacity of a transport ship of two to three thousand tons is actually less than one-third of that of eight thousand tons... After calculation, does the enemy need to have a thousand transport ships? "

"The enemy's transport ship is too large, and it is actually very difficult for us to eat it." Inukai Touji said solemnly: "Everyone, in the next naval battle on Socotra Island, sinking the enemy's warship is not our top priority.

What we need is to sink as many enemy transport ships as possible. In the foreseeable future, the Western pirates who have lost India will never be able to compete with our Ming Dynasty for national strength. Therefore, even if the main ship of the Western pirate navy this time

If they don’t sink, they will be defeated sooner or later. But we must send as many young men as possible to the enemy’s army to go to the bottom of the sea to meet the Dragon King. Therefore, please take this goal as the premise and further refine the combat plan.”
Chapter completed!