The troop transport ship arrived at an island, and Qin Huaidao landed on the island under the leadership of Luo Ying. He met with the other thousand people who stayed behind, reviewed the training results, and gave everyone a speech to encourage them, which was regarded as a formal acquaintance.
It was already dusk when they returned to the col. The troop transport sailed into the trench to replenish fuel and perform maintenance. After finding no abnormality, Qin Huaidao was completely relieved and celebrated with everyone that night.
The next day, everyone once again devoted themselves to shipbuilding.
With the first experience, it is much easier to rebuild. Moreover, this kind of troop transport ship is just a simple cabin shell and a steam engine for power. There are no other technical difficulties. It is a great thing in this era, but it will be too simple in later generations.
look.
The outer shell of the cabin is cast by reverse molding. It does not require any finishing, and there is no condition for finishing. It can be cast in a few days, and then there are internal partitions, masts, sails, etc., which are rough and simple, but practical.
Unknowingly, another month passed, and the caravan returned from Chang'an, bringing a letter.
The letter was written by Li Xueyan, saying that the imperial court was discussing the issue of collecting taxes on Qinjiazhuang. If Qin Huaidao had not approached Li Er to ask for a tax exemption for five years, and several princes had spoken, the tax would have been collected long ago. He also mentioned
Someone in the court impeached Qinjiazhuang for using too many workers, leaving fertile fields uncultivated, and demanded that Qinjiazhuang reduce its workforce.
The Tang Dynasty built a country based on agriculture. Farming was the fundamental plan. Attacking the Qin family village with unmanned farming was a great threat. Qin Huaidao felt that Li Er was preparing to attack him, but he was unwilling to go back at this time. He finally built a ship and was absolutely
Don't give up halfway.
At the end of the letter is a summary of the business at home, and then words of longing.
Qin Huaidao read the long letter, put it away close to his body, and looked at the shipbuilding site. The workers were busy preparing new grinding tools. His sharp eyes looked past the crowd and towards the sea, where six completed troop transport ships were docked.
Just like six steel monsters sleeping, once they wake up, they will be shocked.
"Paulin!"
"Here we come." Yuchi Baolin, who was directing the shipbuilding, rushed up quickly: "What's wrong?"
"There are various signs that something is going to happen in Chang'an. We can't wait any longer. Prepare to send troops to capture Danzhou Road and find evidence." Qin Huaidao said in a deep voice.
"Chang'an..."
Yuchi Baolin was startled, suddenly thought of something, and said angrily: "I said that it was calm during this period, and no one came to harass. It turns out that they knew they couldn't win, so they put the battlefield on the court. This was not done openly. They came covertly.
It’s the same old strategy of the family, but we only have six ships, is that okay?”
"The original plan was to build ten ships. Six ships is a bit too little. But time waits for no one. It will take a month to build four more ships. We can't afford to wait. Let's stop work and let everyone continue to concentrate on refining salt. Making money is equally important. Although the workers who helped build the ships
It's just a start, and I don't have the core secrets, but I know something about it. Let's send it to the Qin family secretly. It can't be captured by others to prevent the secret from being leaked. It will also be convenient for building ships in the future." Qin Huaidao warned seriously.
"Okay, let me talk to everyone. Qinjiazhuang's treatment is good, everyone can understand."
After Yuchi Baolin left, Qin Huaidao waved to several of the village guards to come over, and said: "There are six ships in total. Each of your teams is responsible for one ship. The captain is also the captain. He will divide the crossbows, bows and arrows, and explosive bags into one point."
, all move on board the ship, and go on an expedition with me, go."
"Yes!" The five teams agreed quickly.
Qin Huaidao told Luo Ying beside him: "Arrange fifty people on each ship to cooperate with their actions. The remaining people will take the ship left by the pirates last time. The battle formation will be at the back. Let everyone help carry supplies, coal, and fresh water.
Load up the ship with food, let’s go.”
Luo Ying agreed and hurried away.
The troop transport ship can hold more than a hundred people when squeezed, but there is not much room to maneuver, which will affect the battle. Fifty people are just right. Six troop transport ships, with fifty people in each ship, are 300 people. The number of trained soldiers is 2,000, and the remaining
One thousand seven hundred people boarded the fifty ships that captured the invading island last time.
The transport team needs to continue on the trade route, and it cannot adapt to the rough seas, so it cannot be carried.
The disparity in military strength is huge, but so what? Just do it and it’s over!
Orders were given one after another, everyone started to move, the people all returned to the col, the combatants carried supplies, and the transportation team also came to help, everything was in order.
Qin Huaidao came to the shipbuilding site. After thinking about it, he decided to keep it. Maybe there would still be one in the future. Even if it fell into the hands of the imperial court, he was not afraid. Without steam engines, everything was in vain. Only six of the ten steam engines he brought were used, and the remaining four could not be used.
If you keep it, you will suffer big losses if it falls into the hands of the imperial court, so take it with you as a spare.
By afternoon, everything was ready.
Everyone boarded the ship and slowly left under the watchful eyes of the people, heading straight to the east.
The six troop transport ships used a three-three-one formation, with two ships leading the way and one in the rear. Qin Huaidao was in charge of commanding on this ship. During this time, in addition to learning Japanese, everyone also studied naval warfare. Qin Huaidao taught the team members about flag language for convenience.
communicate.
In the vast sea, there is no communication, so we all rely on semaphores.
On the deck, Qin Huaidao stood with his hands behind his hands, his body swaying with the waves, but his feet were like roots, not moving even half a step. He suddenly realized that he had missed one thing, a telescope. He could not see far on the sea. If he had a telescope in his hand, he could
It's a pity that the enemy has the upper hand.
The fleet arrived at the island, picked up another thousand people and continued their journey.
There were fifty wooden boats, and they were not moving very fast. A strong wind suddenly blew at night, and the waves surged to a height of one meter. The troop carrier rose and fell with the waves, which was not a big problem. However, the wooden boats looked a little dangerous, shaking and swaying to the west. The people on board
I was tossed around, but fortunately I have been training for more than half a year and I am used to it.
An hour later, the sea was calm.
The dark clouds have cleared, the moon is bright in the sky, and the stars are dotted.
Qin Huaidao was familiar with the weather on the sea that could change at a moment's notice, so it was not surprising. He quickly asked people to send out flags and ask about the situation of the village guards. It was true that everyone had trained a lot, but the sea training had only lasted about a month. When the ships sent signals, everyone was a little confused.
Dizziness and vomiting, but nothing serious.
Seasickness is hard to resist, so you just have to tough it out and get used to it.
The fleet continued forward, traveling like ghosts under the moonlight.
The next morning, Qin Huaidao didn't know where he was or how far away he was. He was about to ask the translator when he suddenly heard the sentry on the mast shout: "Report, young master, that a large number of sea ships have been spotted ahead."
"Ship?"
Qin Huaidao was shocked. How could there be a large number of sea ships coming? Could it be that pirates came for a sneak attack again? There is no reason. If a sneak attack was to be carried out long ago, why wait until now? Could it be a merchant ship? He couldn't help but look at Yuchi Baolin and asked: "Baolin, Da
Did the Tang Dynasty have large-scale merchant ships plying the sea?"
"I haven't heard of it. Maybe there is. I don't know much about Jiangnan."
"Send the order, form the battle formation, prepare for battle." Qin Huaidao shouted.
The sentry quickly raised a flag and passed the order to other troop transport ships. As for the sea ships behind, each ship arranged a guard member to serve as a flagman to facilitate communication.
The six troop transport ships quickly formed a one-two-three formation, widened the distance, and rushed forward like a sharp arrow. The three ships behind, with Qin Huaidao's ship in the center, were responsible for command, and the ships on both sides were responsible for protection.
The ships behind them also quickly formed into two columns, like two war dragons galloping forward. This formation has the advantage that you only need to take care of one side of the enemy, which is similar to a back-to-back battle.
But there is also a disadvantage: they are fighting on their own and cannot coordinate and support each other.
However, there are six troop transport ships leading the way, opening a gap in the opponent's attack, and everyone just follows suit and rushes forward.
Invisibly, fifty-six ships rushed forward like a sharp arrow. The arrowhead was six troop transport ships, and the long arrow body was fifty sea-going ships. The momentum was like a rainbow.
On the deck, Qin Huaidao looked up into the distance, his blood boiling.
The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer. Different from everyone's attack formation, the incoming ships spread out in a vague crescent shape, like a military formation slowly advancing. This formation is the favorite attack method of pirates. Once they get close, they can
Quickly surround one of the ships, bite the target like a shark, and then attack the other ship, conquering them one by one.
Unlike war horses, ships are not as agile as war horses, nor are they able to fight on foot. If the formation is long, it cannot be surrounded quickly and in time, and it is impossible to concentrate troops to jump off the ship and fight.
Unfortunately, this time I met Qin Huaidao.
Looking at the countless ships approaching slowly, a rough count showed that there must be hundreds of ships. There was a strong murderous aura over the fleet, unlike a caravan, and he shouted: "Report the observation situation."
"Young Master, there are countless soldiers on board. It is not like a merchant ship, nor does it fly a pirate flag. Their identities are unknown." The person sitting on the mast responsible for the observation loudly responded.
"No pirate flag?"
Qin Huaidao was a little surprised. It was not a pirate or a merchant ship. What was it? Could it be the Japanese navy? Thinking of this, Qin Huaidao felt a chill in his heart and shouted: "Send an order to ship No. 1 and ask for your identity."
Ship No. 1 is the one leading the battle. In order to facilitate command, each ship is numbered. The ship where Qin Huaidao is on is ship No. 0.
The observation post shouted loudly: "The signal has been sent out, but the other party does not respond."