Chapter 1157 The decisive battle between Cao and Wei (6)
4364 (1667 AD), August 25th.
Cao's army disguised itself as a Wei army's cargo ship and wanted to attack Wanhe Port in Beiling Prefecture.
The customs at the port of Wei discovered anomalies when collecting taxes.
Cao Jun's infiltration plan failed and the opportunity to seize Wanhe Port was lost.
Xue Qi, the commander-in-chief of the Cao Navy, was furious and ordered mine-laying boats to block Wanhe Port with mines.
He also ordered the battleship's guns to destroy the cranes in Wanhe Port and the railway tracks transporting goods, which are important facilities in the port.
There were too many civilians in Wanhe Port, and the battleships opened fire directly on the civilians. This was a violation of the Jianye Convention and would bring great trouble to Cao State.
Of course General Xue Qi would not do this. Instead, he would destroy dock facilities and blockade the port with mines.
After doing this, Wanhe Port will not be used in a short time.
This will achieve the same effect as shelling the port, and will not cause trouble to Cao Guo.
General Xue Qi looked at several torpedo boats in the port. They were desperately trying to rush through the minefield, and they were also trying to use depth charges to detonate the mines in the water.
One of the torpedo boats was damaged by a mine, the cabin had been filled with water, it was tilting, and it would soon sink to the bottom of the sea.
The remaining torpedo boats still showed no fear and still wanted to try to break through the blockade of the minefield.
General Xue Qi admired these naval officers of Wei.
But they are their own masters, and if you respect them, you can't let the enemy go on the battlefield.
General Xue Qi gave the order with a serious expression: "Let me bombard these torpedo boats.
We cannot encounter the big ships of the Wei army, but if we attack these small ships, that will be the result of the battle."
Cao's three battleships have a long range, and the main guns of the battleships, including the flagship Hongfeng, are extremely powerful.
As long as the cannonball can accurately hit the torpedo boat, the torpedo boat will lose its combat effectiveness. If the torpedo boat explodes, one cannonball can end the torpedo boat.
The battleship Red Maple's main gun fired again, destroying a torpedo boat with one shell.
Xue Qi heard a bang and the battleship Hong Maple shook violently.
His expression immediately changed and he shouted loudly: "The enemy submarine is attacking, quickly throw depth charges to the surrounding area.
Remind all warships to be prepared for submarine attack."
The officers reacted immediately and ordered the soldiers to start dropping depth charges in the surrounding waters.
General Xue Qi reacted extremely quickly. He immediately understood that he was being attacked by an enemy submarine.
He did not see the warships of Wei and Zhao in the surrounding waters.
The forts at Wanhe Port can't hit that far.
The only weapon that can pose a threat to the fleet is the submarine.
The sweat on General Xue Qi's face immediately ran down.
If the Wei army has a large number of submarines, or there is an ambush by the Wei army around, the fleet will be in danger this time.
Fortunately, because the Marine Corps' forward was exposed, the hope of capturing Wanhe Port was lost.
General Xue Qi has already asked the Marines to evacuate to the open sea, fearing that they will be affected by the shore forts.
The battleship's armor is thick, so it may not sink if it takes a torpedo.
If the troop transport ship were hit by this torpedo, it would definitely sink, and everyone on board would be killed at sea.
General Xue Qi listened to the sound of depth charges exploding continuously.
The battleship Hong Maple is also constantly changing speed and position.
Prevent submarines from launching torpedoes and ambush the battleship Hong Maple ahead.
The battleship Red Maple was not hit by torpedoes again.
General Xue Qi then began to observe the situation on the battlefield.
They should be attacked by three submarines, one of which attacked the battleship Red Maple.
Even the battleship Hong Maple was only an early Wuyue-class battleship of the empire and was not reinforced against torpedo attacks.
But the armor of the battleship can still prevent torpedo attacks.
The battleship Hong Maple was only injured and did not affect the normal operations of the warship.
Cao Guo's two self-produced cruisers, the Pentium and the Excitement, were hit by torpedoes below the waterline.
This directly caused seawater to pour into the ship's cabin, causing the ship's traveling speed to become very slow.
If it weren't for the multiple watertight compartments that ensured the buoyancy of the two warships, they would have sunk into the sea long ago.
Before Cao's navy general Xue Qi came out, he was full of confidence and thought that Wei's navy was nothing more than this.
He hasn't seen the main force of Wei's navy yet, but the fleet has already suffered one minor injury and two serious injuries.
He didn't know where the main force of Wei's navy was.
If the main force of Wei's navy is nearby, given the current situation of Cao's naval fleet, the next battle will be very difficult.
General Xue Qi had no choice but to give the order to retreat.
Even if it was against the battleships of the Wei Navy, he was confident that he would give them a chance.
But he had no way to compete with the submarines equipped by Wei State.
While they were fighting with foreign naval fleets, they encountered a submarine from the Wei Navy.
In this case, Cao's navy could not win the naval battle at all.
Even if General Xue Qi desires military glory, he will not choose a losing war.
He commanded the entire navy of Cao State, and once he destroyed the navy in the Atlantic Ocean.
The vast coastline of Cao State is unsafe to defend.
The Wei navy will be able to attack Chao's waters at will. If this happens, General Xue Qi will become Cao's sinner.
Cao's naval fleet was far away from Wanhe Port.
General Xue Qi immediately sent a telegram to many warships, most of which were in line with the fleet.
The telegram he sent to the Governor's Office was firmly worded, stating that the Chao Kingdom's naval fleet was unable to fight against the Wei Kingdom's naval fleet.
Only with the help of local advantages can the Wei naval fleet be offset.
General Xue Qi explained between the lines that the fleet was not as powerful as Wei.
Especially against Wei's submarine force, they had no choice but to be beaten passively.
The fleet was unable to fight against the Wei navy and had already begun to return to preserve its own strength and prevent Wei from invading the sea.
General Xue Qi in a telegram to other warship captains.
He directly took full responsibility, showing that he had misjudged the current situation.
Before the war began, he underestimated the enemy and failed to gather the true strength of the Wei army.
As a result, the fleet had already suffered heavy losses before the decisive battle with the main force of the Wei army.
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General Xue Qi placed all the responsibilities on him.
Only then can others abdicate their responsibilities and continue to retain their positions.
…
In Daliang, Wei State, King Su Hu of Wei received the report. He said regretfully: "The navy of Cao State was too cunning and let them escape.
If Cao Guo's navy dares to delay for one more day, our navy and Zhao's navy will be able to encircle Cao's navy.
Winning this war and publicizing the results can greatly boost morale.
Now we only damage the enemy's warships, but don't sink or capture them, so the shock of victory is much less impressive."
When King Su Hu of Wei saw the navy's victory, he no longer paid attention to the navy's situation.
The war that can really determine the fate of the two countries is the battle between the armies.
King Cao Li Dazhuang quickly received a report from General Xue Qi.
When the Grand Governor Kong Erniu saw King Cao Li Dazhuang reading the telegram, he immediately asked: "Your Majesty, how to solve the problem of Xue Qi's disobedience?
According to the intelligence we have collected now, the Wei Navy and the Zhao Navy are equipped with warships at least three times that of our fleet, and are ready to completely annihilate our navy.
Xue Qi's choice is very forward-looking, and he has helped our country avoid the possibility of the entire navy being annihilated."
King Cao Li Dazhuang knocked on the table and issued an order: "Gong is merit, fault is fault.
Xue Qi disobeyed the order and led the fleet to retreat privately.
This situation must be dealt with seriously, as it has touched the bottom line of the military.
If Xue Qi doesn't deal with it, other generals will follow suit and command the army according to their own ideas, so it's not completely chaotic.
The army fights as a whole. There is an army that disobeys orders and fails to complete its scheduled tasks.
It is likely to cause the entire plan to fail.
Xue Qi has made some achievements now. If he doesn't deal with it, the other generals will follow his example.
If we try to deal with it later, it will make the general feel like he is being targeted and cause more troubles.
We are not worried about scarcity but about inequality. Some people can exercise their privileges while others cannot.
It's not okay to do this. Once the rules are set, everyone must be treated equally.
How should Xue Qi be dealt with? Do that without giving any preferential treatment.
As for the naval fleet, it is directly treated coldly.
This is not a glorious thing."
The Grand Governor Kong Erniu received instructions from King Cao Li Dazhuang, and he knew what to do next.
King Cao Li Dazhuang was already prepared for the defeat of the navy.
After all, Cao's navy has never been strong.
Cao's strength has always been its army.
Now the main battlefield is still in a stalemate.
Whichever side can break the deadlock first will win.
In addition to the main force, only the three thousand mountain jungle warfare troops commanded by Fu Hong remained.
King Cao Li Dazhuang did not have full confidence in this army.
The number of this army is too small, only three thousand people.
It also requires crossing an extremely dangerous rainforest, even in the dry season. No one can predict how many people will actually be able to cross the rainforest.
Even after passing through the rain forest, no one can predict how much fighting power these people will maintain.
This army is more dangerous than the navy.
The navy was so frightened that it fled in panic. This was because the general was incompetent, not because the navy was incompetent.
When the navy encounters such a dangerous situation, it can still return to the country for help.
King Cao Li Dazhuang still hopes that this army can achieve some results.
Now Cao Guo is the most anxious party and wants to break the deadlock as soon as possible.
No one knows under what circumstances the situation in Zhao will be stable?
Once Zhao State regains its national strength, it chooses to help Wei State.
Cao Guo will have no chance of winning.
Mountain jungle warfare troops travel through the forest, and they are strictly prohibited from sending any electromagnetic waves to the outside world.
This was a deserted area of the tropical rain forest, and a signal for sending a telegraph suddenly appeared here.
Anyone who detects this signal will realize that someone is walking through the rainforest.
The army maintains radio silence and will only receive specific telegrams.
King Cao Li Dazhuang wanted to know the situation of this army, but he was unable to do so.
…
General Fu Hong strictly ordered the entire army to maintain radio silence.
Only during a small amount of time at night will I use the radio to receive intelligence from the outside or new instructions.
General Fu Hong glanced at the compass in his hand to make sure he was heading in the right direction.
They did not get lost in the rain forest and continued to move towards Wei State.
As for which mansion to head towards, relying only on the compass and the shadow cast by the sun to determine the direction, no one can avoid making mistakes.
When these small mistakes accumulate, the direction has deviated. Now no one can predict the specific direction of the location and how far it has traveled.
Fu Hong glanced at his subordinates, whose performance was admirable.
As long as they could carry their comrades on their backs, they never gave up on any of their comrades.
They all know that if they leave their injured and sick comrades in the rainforest, they will end up dead.
Many soldiers are capturing animals in the rainforest to feed themselves.
They have been specially trained in rainforest survival knowledge. They know which animals can be eaten and which animals are poisonous and must not be eaten?
General Fu Hong saw some food in these people's backpacks.
However, they have already used local materials to find food in the jungle to fill their stomachs.
General Fu Hong knew what these people were thinking.
Now in the jungle, if you can find food, then eat the food in the jungle.
They encountered certain areas where they could not find food and were eating the food in their backpacks.
This will increase their chance of survival.
After all, they had lost their bearings in the dense jungle.
It is impossible to tell how much time it will take to cross the jungle on the border between the two countries.
General Fu Hong felt something moving at his feet, so he directly slashed down with his command knife.
A snake the color of dead wood immediately rolled on the ground.
This is a snake that sees it as its prey.
This jungle creature is the undisputed overlord in the jungle.
They have never seen humans before, and they have no idea how scary humans are.
General Fu Hong could tell based on experience that this was a poisonous snake, but it was also a delicacy.
He skillfully removed the poisonous parts of the snakes, skewered the snakes on sticks and roasted them on the fire.
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General Fu Hong continued to roast the snake meat.
If you want to live well in the jungle, the most important thing is to not get sick or get injured.
Once you get sick or injured here, it is difficult to get medical treatment.
Eating raw meat is a habit that can easily make you sick.
General Fu Hong wants to roast the snake meat thoroughly.
After roasting the snake, he was distributing it to the surrounding generals and guards.
The two scouts responsible for investigating the surrounding situation came back with surprises on their faces.
"General Fu, we found a slow-moving river ahead."
Fu Hong said in surprise: "It's great to have found the river."
The rainforest they traveled through was a rainforest located in a mountainous area.
All the previous rivers flowed towards Cao State.
After they climbed over many mountains, they discovered the river flowing to Wei State.
The terrain of the rainforest has completely changed.
The rivers discovered before can only be regarded as small streams.
Every time they encountered a river, the soldiers were very excited.
The flowing water is very clean and can be drunk normally as long as it is boiled.
Where the water flow is not fast, there are also a large number of fish in the river, which can supplement the meat for the soldiers.
The most critical point is that this is the river flowing to Wei State. As long as they follow the river, they can get out of the rain forest.
Wei's cities like to be built next to rivers.
Whether it is industrial production or agricultural production, it is inseparable from a large amount of water sources.
If a city wants to develop, it also needs to consume an extremely large amount of water.
General Fu Hong saw that some people were still depressed.
He immediately encouraged: "We found the river, and we are not far from leaving the jungle.
Everyone is moving forward along the river now, and if we persist, we will definitely reach Wei State."
General Fu Hong's prediction was correct. After several days of trekking, they successfully walked out of the rainforest.
Set foot on the territory that Wei State can actually control.