There are forty-five main warships and some destroyers and transport ships in Guangzhou Military Port.
More than a hundred ships were lined up for inspection.
The Southern Expedition Fleet, composed of the First Fleet and the Third Fleet, is ready for the expedition.
Liu Guangsheng looked at Zhang Wanfeng, the commander-in-chief of the Third Fleet.
He said with relief: "Governor Zhang, our Guangdong Shipyard has repaired all the warships that the Third Fleet can repair."
Zhang Wanfeng said excitedly: "Old leader, Wan Feng really admires your ability.
It only took half a month to repair so many warships.
After inspection, we found out that there are hidden dangers in so many warships in our Third Fleet.
If they are not repaired, they will be exposed during war, leading to defeat in the war.
Then our Third Fleet is the sinner of the navy."
Liu Guangsheng said with a smile: "It's overrated. Most warships encounter minor problems, and these simple problems are easy to repair.
The two warships that need major repairs are still docked in the dock."
Zhang Wanfeng and Liu Guangsheng exchanged a few polite words and thanked Liu Guangsheng and Guangzhou Shipyard.
All the warships have been repaired, and Zhang Wanfeng is commanding them to fight, which makes them feel more at ease.
He walked to the side of the First Fleet Governor Lu Yuanshan.
After several days of discussion, we compared the strength and work expertise of the two fleets.
Zhang Wanfeng and Lu Yuanshan have already arranged the positioning of the two fleets.
His Majesty did not specify in the imperial edict who was in charge and who was deputy.
But Zhang Wanfeng knew that he could not compete, so he did not compete with others. This time the Southern Expedition was based on the First Fleet.
The idea in the army is very simple, whoever is stronger will be the boss.
If you want to gain military merit, you must win.
Whoever can lead everyone to victory will be followed by everyone.
"Lao Lu, it's already nine o'clock in the morning, the time is right now, let's set off.
We mobilized the ships, coupled with newspaper propaganda.
The Dutch should have been prepared, they are afraid of our army.
It would be bad if you give the Dutch enough time to escape."
Lu Yuanshan chuckled and said: "I can run away from the monk, but I can't run away from the temple.
Batavia, a big city that the Dutch worked hard to build, can still be used as a ship.
Not to mention the city of Batavia, there are so many properties and immigrants in the city.
In a short period of time, there were not enough ships to transport them.
This is our navy's first ocean-going operation. On the vast sea, supply lines may be cut off by the enemy.
Haste makes waste, we must work steadily to achieve final victory.
You can suffer a slight defeat in the second and third games, but you must achieve a brilliant victory in the first game.
I don’t know how many pairs of eyes are staring at our navy.
These people are just waiting for us to fail so they can have an excuse to cut our navy's military spending.
I will never give these people an excuse to take advantage of them."
Lu Yuanshan looked at the warships parked on the sea and the smiling faces of the Dahua Navy officers on them.
If he took these ships away, he would do his best to bring them back.
Navy officers are allowed to sacrifice, but the sacrifice must not be unnecessary. The sacrifice must be valuable.
Lu Yuanshan heard Zhang Wanfeng say that the time had come, and he saw that the Southern Expedition Fleet was ready. I had officers and soldiers who were eager to try and make meritorious deeds.
He shouted loudly: "Set sail, our southern expedition fleet will go out to defeat the Dutch and capture Batavia."
The sound of drums sounded in the Guangzhou military port, and the warships on the sea also sounded the sound of air whistles.
The steam engine began to pull the warship's sail.
The cruisers were the first to go out, their masts quickly filled with sails, and they headed towards the ocean from the port.
Lu Yuanshan boarded his flagship, the battleship Qin Shihuang.
Zhang Wanfeng boarded his flagship, the battleship Huo Qubing.
The Southern Expedition Fleet, composed of the First Fleet and the Third Fleet, set off from Guangzhou Port.
They started the Great China Dynasty and the first ocean-going battle.
…………………………
Du Baonian, a canned goods merchant, invited his friend Zhao Wenjie to dinner at Heshenglou.
He saw that his friend's expression was not right.
His friend spent more than 800,000 taels of silver coins, bought several large ships, and became a small maritime merchant.
During this time, I have been doing overseas business.
The canned food produced in Duponian requires a large amount of sugar.
Sugar is very expensive now. It is a precious commodity, and sugar expenditure accounts for a large part of the factory cost.
Du Baonian set up a small sugar factory specifically because he lacked skilled craftsmen and patented technology.
The quality of the sugar factory's products cannot compete with that of the big sugar factories, and it mainly supplies its canneries.
In order to reduce costs, he asked Zhao Wenjie to purchase a large amount of sugar cane.
Overseas sugarcane is very cheap. Taking into account tariffs, it is only 5% cheaper than local sugarcane in Guangdong and Guangxi.
The most critical reason is that the local sugar cane in Guangdong and Guangxi has been monopolized by large sugar factories, and he cannot obtain sugar raw materials at all.
Maritime merchants took silk, tea, and porcelain to trade overseas.
It would be a huge waste to come back with an empty ship.
Manila and other Southeast Asian regions don’t have very good products.
They mostly buy grain and shelf-stable raw materials.
There were no major mistakes in Du Baonian and Zhao Wenjie's previous collaborations.
Zhao Wenjie is in an abnormal mood now.
Could it be that the returning ship encountered a typhoon and sank?
He should have heard about such a big event, but he didn't hear the rumors.
"Brother Zhao, what maritime merchants earn is risk money. If you can return to Guangzhou Port safely, you have earned it.
Don’t be depressed if an accident occurs. If you lose your money, you can make more. But if you lose your life, everything will be over.”
Zhao Wenjie listened to Du Baonian's words and knew that he had misunderstood his situation.
He lowered his voice and said carefully:
"Brother Du, nothing happened to my fleet, and all the sugar cane you ordered has been transported to the port.
When I returned, I saw a huge navy fleet heading south.
Looking at this huge army with great momentum, it seems like a war is about to begin.
If I discover this big secret, will I be arrested by the police?"
Du Baonian saw his friend Zhao Wenjie's cautious behavior.
He laughed loudly and said loudly: "Brother Zhao, just keep your heart in mind. Ask the folks in Guangzhou about this matter. Who else doesn't know about it?
This time you went overseas to do business and missed a big event.
The navy's expedition is not only about time, but also the goal is clear to everyone.
The imperial court has stated in newspapers that they will attack the Dutch to avenge the deaths of the Han people."
Du Baonian simply acted like Zhao Wenjie and introduced recent events.
After Zhao Wenjie listened to Du Baonian, he completely relaxed.
"I was scared to death. It turned out that I was beating a Dutchman.
These red-haired people are so disgusting, don't expect them to come here and keep their peace.
Overseas, their faces immediately changed.
Among those of us who have been running around all year round, there is no one who has not been bullied by the red-haired people, and there are many who have lost their lives.
It’s worth paying the tax, it’s worth paying the tax!
In this court, he really makes decisions for the people."
The two of them discussed it in the restaurant, which also caused other people to discuss this topic.
A scholar said with a surprised look on his face: "The navy has already set out for the expedition. I didn't expect it to move so quickly.
The newspaper said there was a fight, but now the fight really started.
I thought it was just bragging, but I didn’t expect it to actually take action.”
A factory director said cheerfully: "My seventh uncle's son-in-law's nephew works in the arsenal.
I introduced his wife to him, but I didn’t even have time for a blind date.
It can be seen from this aspect that this time it is not about scaring people in the past, but about fighting a big battle.
Also, sending out so many warships will definitely cost a lot of money.
If we don't really fight, we won't be able to create such a big battle."
A man wearing a patrol uniform with half an arm missing said: "I hope the officers and soldiers of the Southern Expedition Fleet can come back safely this time.
Naval warfare is dangerous and unpredictable, and the Chinese Navy has little experience in naval warfare.
I hope to use strong ships and cannons to offset the experience of the Dutch.
The Dutch have been playing with boats for hundreds of years, and we are just getting started.
I believe that victory will definitely belong to us in the future."
Someone in the restaurant wanted to refute his words, which would only boost the enemy's ambition and destroy our own prestige.
Someone immediately stopped the impulsive person and told them that this person was a retired naval officer.
A thin old man with a white beard said with emotion: "The new dynasty has a new atmosphere, this is really a new dynasty and a new atmosphere.
When the Ming Dynasty was in power, those officials did not dare to do this.
Treat us overseas remnants as pariahs and don't care about our life or death at all.
I hope the navy can display the majesty of a great nation so that these small barbarian countries will never dare to invade us again."
People here in the restaurant only regard the Royal Navy's expedition as something to talk about after dinner.
Most of them believe that when a great country goes to war, it will definitely win.
…………………………
A huge fleet is riding the wind and waves.
The warship at the forefront is the cruiser Wenzhou belonging to the Third Fleet.
Captain Niu Xiangshan saw several small boats ahead and wanted to get closer to their fleet.
He immediately commanded the warship and sailed over with full sail.
Their cruiser Wenzhou, as the vanguard of the fleet, is to drive away enemies approaching the fleet.
Pirates would never dare to walk next to a huge fleet.
Niu Xiangshan put down his telescope and looked at the warship approaching in front of him. This should be a nearby naval force.
They set out from Guangzhou and went straight to Nanyang along the coast of Vietnam.
"Chief of Staff, what position has the fleet reached?"
When Shi Lang heard the captain's question, he immediately responded: "Captain Niu, we have arrived at Champa.
According to the position indicated on the chart, we have just walked halfway."
When Niu Xiangshan heard this, he sighed and said, "We've only walked half the distance!
Batavia is really far away from Guangzhou.
The distance we are walking now is almost the same as the distance from Lushunkou to Guangzhou Port.
I didn’t expect Batavia to be so far away from us.”
While Niu Xiangshan was talking, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The biggest feeling he felt when he went south was the heat.
The further south the boat went, the closer he felt to a large furnace.
Shi Lang asked: "Captain Niu, what should we do with those small boats blocking the road ahead?
We will directly destroy these ships as we did before."
Niu Xiangshan waved his hand and said: "According to the plan, the fleet will replenish Danshui near Champa.
There is plenty of food on board, and the food can be stored well. The place where the food is stored has quicklime to dehumidify it.
Even on a humid ship, these foods will not go moldy.
Dan water is completely different. Dan water stored for a long time is easy to deteriorate.
Soldiers who drank spoiled water were very susceptible to illness.
After the soldiers on board fell ill, the warship lost its combat effectiveness.
Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhang have already chosen two locations to obtain Danshui based on the positions on the chart.
They are Champa and Dammasik respectively.
The navy in front should be the navy that occupied the city.
We should be polite first and then send troops. If they don't accept our friendship, it won't be too late to send troops."
The cruiser Wenzhou approached the naval fleet in Champa.
The naval general of Champa saw the huge warships on the opposite side and a long list of fleets behind them.
Looking at the boats around him, he was so frightened that he was covered in sweat.
Immediately dispatch personnel to contact the unfamiliar fleet.
He heard a report from his men that some fishermen had seen a huge fleet of boats.
At first he thought it was pirates attacking them again.
After seeing the true appearance, especially the dragon flag raised high on the mast of the warship.
The naval generals in Champa immediately realized that this was the navy of the Chinese dynasty.
The navy of the Celestial Dynasty mobilized troops, but this had nothing to do with them occupying the city.
No matter how many warships are dispatched from this huge fleet, they will not be able to stop it.
If the Chinese government wanted to occupy Champa City, there was no need to mobilize troops like this.
The naval general of Champa saw his men returning and made a detailed report to him.
This subordinate knows some Ming Dynasty Mandarin and should be able to understand the purpose of these Ming people.
"Sir, the Ming Dynasty has changed its dynasty. Now it belongs to the Great China Dynasty. These are the warships of the Great China Dynasty.
They want to get some fresh water from the river's mouth and trade some supplies with us."
The Champa naval general's face immediately relaxed.
His ancestors had also experienced this kind of battle.
At that time, not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a huge fleet was sent to Southeast Asia.
His ancestors were also frightened when they saw that fleet.
But this fleet only promoted the Ming Dynasty's military power and conducted normal trade, but did not conquer cities or territories.
When the naval general of Champa thought of this, he completely relaxed.
If this huge fleet really wanted to enter Champa, there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He was still very worried about other people, but the arrival of the Han people was trustworthy.
The Champa naval general immediately agreed to the request of the Dahua Fleet.
He personally led these warships to the mouth of the river to obtain fresh water.
He also asked local officials to organize people to trade with these warships.
Lu Yuanshan stood on the battleship Qin Shihuang, watching soldiers fetching water at the mouth of the river.
The density of Dan water is smaller than that of sea water, and the flow of Dan water at the mouth of a river is very fast.
Danshui and seawater are not completely mixed together, and Danshui floats on the seawater.
Lu Yuanshan quickly boiled the fresh water and made a pot of tea.
"Such a sweet water, I miss the taste so much."
The water that has been stored in wooden barrels for a long time always has a musty smell.
Even if it is boiled and drunk, the taste is very unpleasant.
Lu Yuanshan transported a large amount of fresh vegetables to the transport ship.
The food can be improved in the next few days. These days it is all bean sprouts and canned food.
The First Fleet chief of staff traveled around to see these fresh vegetables.
He swallowed his saliva and said, "Lao Lu, are you not afraid that these Champa people will poison the food?"
Lu Yuanshan smiled indifferently and said: "The first reason is that they don't dare to poison.
I will also arrange for people to eat it in batches, so that poisoning can be detected in time.
The second reason is that the time is too short, they don’t have time to poison, and vegetables are not a good carrier for poisoning, so it is easy to see.”
Lu Yuanshan saw that the transaction was completed and the fleet had been replenished with sufficient Danshui. He led the fleet to continue south.
He looked back at the land of Champa and said with emotion: "We walked along the coastline and didn't encounter much difficulty at all.
I can paddle up to here just by sitting on the bathtub.
This is simply a chosen place. Why are our ancestors so afraid of the sea?
The surrounding land, valuable land, has been taken up, but it has not expanded like the ocean.
Fortunately, it's not too late now, we can complete the tasks that our ancestors failed to complete."
Lu Yuanshan looked at the fertile land of Champa, his eyes became hot.
If the fleet didn't have a major mission, he would have stayed here. The land was too fertile.
