The most difficult part of cooperation in military operations is not the operation itself, but the distribution of rights and obligations. Once this aspect is resolved, the subsequent negotiations will be much easier. [] Xia Xun and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu agreed that the Ming Dynasty Navy would be the main
Responsible for maritime operations, the navy assists in matters such as the sea surface. The land aspect is mainly handled by the army. Unless the army asks for help from the Ming Navy, or there is a major loophole in the land defense line, or the location where pirates land and abscond is not guarded by the army, the Ming Army will
Appropriate pursuit can be carried out.
The so-called proper pursuit means a distance of thirty miles and no depth. Xia Xun also agreed with this point. His purpose was to fight against pirates, not to rely on this navy to occupy it. If he really got involved too deep, he would be unfamiliar with the road and the language.
Failure to keep up with supply was a great threat to his own army, which was not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty, so after gaining greater freedom, Xia Xun no longer insisted on his own opinion.
Finally, the two sides discussed the issue of joint encirclement and suppression time and information exchange. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu asked: "So, when will our specific encirclement and suppression time be determined?"
Xia Xun said: "I think we should first determine where the pirates are gathered. We don't know this information. Only by understanding the pirates' stronghold and number of people can we make next arrangements."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu smiled slightly and called: "Smart Pill!"
As soon as the shoji door was opened, a young man with a beautiful face, delicate features, and black samurai uniform appeared at the door. He saluted Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and said respectfully: "Your Majesty the Shogun!"
"Tell the angel of heaven the information I want you to find out about pirates!"
"yes!"
The young samurai responded respectfully, walked to the table, took out a map from his pocket, slowly unfolded it, and pointed: "Pirates mainly gather on these islands, Gale Island, Breaking Wave Island, and Duck Reef.
Island, there are about three pirate forces gathered on Gust Island, namely the Niki family, the Tamaru family..."
Xia Xun paid attention to his soft-soled shoes, leggings and tight belt, and thought to himself: "Both the general and the daimyo have raised many ninjas to serve as their secret organizations to gather intelligence and assassinate enemy generals.
This smart pill must be a ninja."
After Aoshimaru introduced the situation of each organization, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said: "These pirates often fight among themselves, but once they encounter external threats, they will unite. After they form a combined force, they are very powerful. I have also sent troops
After encircling and suppressing them, once the troops are not as strong as theirs, they will be counterattacked. Once heavy troops are sent, they will leave the island. We cannot station on those small islands for a long time, and it is a headache to deal with them. This time, there are
With the help of the Ming Shui Master, I hope to defeat them completely."
General Si Boyi asked in a deep voice: "Excuse me, Your Excellency Duke Fu, when can we launch an attack on them?"
Xia Xun said: "I think this issue should be decided by the General. Our warships are in Ryukyu and will arrive at dawn and dusk, but we need to know how long it will take for the General to prepare."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu thought for a while and said: "It will take some time to deploy a good defense line on land, dispatch enough troops, and dispatch the navy to cooperate with the Kamei Navy to encircle the pirates at sea. We will set a date of 20
The Queen is fine."
Xia Xun warned: "General, it is best to keep it secret when deploying troops. If the pirates notice it and scatter and escape, it will be difficult to track down."
Si Bo interjected righteously: "This is of no concern to you! We will do what we should do!"
Xia Xun didn't feel dissatisfied and just smiled lightly.
After the negotiation was over and he returned to his residence, Zheng He couldn't help but laugh. Xia Xun asked curiously: "Why are you laughing, father-in-law?"
Zheng He said: "The secret agent next to General Ashikaga is called Chongming Wan. Hasn't the Duke heard of an ancient poem? 'It is better to push away the grass than to destroy the Chongming Wan.' Chongming Wan refers to longan in our Lingnan. I can't think of him."
It makes people laugh that he would be called such a name."
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Yang was about to tell my father-in-law about something, but after hearing this, my father-in-law may not be able to laugh anymore!"
※※※※※※※
On Pilang Island, several pirate gangs are hurriedly preparing to carry a large amount of looted materials onto the ship box by box. Everything that can be moved from the island camp is also packed into the ship.
Move as much as you can onto the boat.
This island is obviously just their temporary residence, although this "temporary" time is a bit longer, because this is just the place where they attract gangs of thieves and collect and distribute stolen goods. Their families are all settled on land, and pirates often take small boats.
Go ashore and go home to reunite with your relatives, so the flow of people here is very frequent. It is only possible that there are always people on the island. Only when going to sea or in situations like this, they will rush back quickly and wait for dispatch.
Therefore, the buildings on the island are very simple. Apparently they have learned about the action plan of the Ming Dynasty and the joint bandit suppression, and are hurriedly preparing to move. These Japanese pirates are very frugal. Even the warehouses and tents they built have been dismantled and the wooden boards have been removed.
and the beams and pillars were all moved onto the ship. Because there were almost no plants on the island, once these things were burned, they had to move them here from the land, which was very troublesome.
There are also several piles of long, thick and straight wood on the island, which are used to build Japanese ships. They are also carried on board one by one by the bandits. In this way, they do not intend to give them to the officers and soldiers and the Daming Navy.
There's a little loot left.
A ronin stood on the side of the ship and shouted loudly: "Hurry up, hurry up! The troops of the Ming Dynasty Navy and the Minister of Taizheng will be here soon. All the things that can be used are shipped on board!"
Another man who looked shabby but still dressed as a warrior said lazily: "Why are you so anxious? It will take them ten days to come here."
"Muzhuo-kun, choosing a place to temporarily relocate our things and people is a problem, especially since we haven't moved from Pilang Island for many years. There are too many broken things. Even if we rush to transport them, it will still take another five days.
Finish."
Mu Zao curled his lips and said: "It's really too shabby, and all the junk is carried on the boat. According to me, there is no need for these things at all. As long as there are boats and people, all the wealth we need can be snatched from the Ming Dynasty."
"
He turned around and walked onto a rock, pointed to the distance, and said loudly: "That's it, as long as we..."
His voice paused, and he suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Hey, there are three big ships coming in the distance. They must be the ships of the Oda family. On these islands, only the Oda family has such big ships."
"No way, the Oda family is stationed on Yajiao Island. What are they doing on our Polang Island?"
After hearing this, the rogue also climbed up the rock, put his hand on the awning and looked into the distance.
The ship rode the wind and waves and got closer and closer. The ronin suddenly screamed strangely: "Muzhuo-kun, my eyes may have been blurred. Are you, is that a Ming army warship?"
The warrior stared into the distance in astonishment. The ship was getting closer and closer, and more warships came out from behind. They overwhelmed the sky and covered the earth with sails and rafts like a forest. The warrior's jaw seemed to have dropped. He was speechless for a long time before roaring: "Oh my God! Really!"
It’s a Ming army warship, what’s going on? Aren’t there still ten days left?”
The Ronin jumped off the rock and shouted in despair: "Hurry! Hurry up the anchor, hoist the sails, and prepare for battle. The navy warships of the Ming Dynasty are coming to kill you!"
The dilapidated warrior shouted: "Don't panic, everyone. There are hidden reefs here. The warships of the Ming Navy cannot get in. If they hit the rocks, they will sink. Hurry! Report to the chief!"
The giant battleship on the opposite side has slowed down. Ren Juying stood on the bow and shouted loudly: "Order! Stop the big ship on the spot and prevent it from going out to sea! The small ship will surround it, transport troops ashore, and cut off its escape route! The sentinel ship
, Haicang ship, Cangshan ship go to battle! Put down the centipede speedboat and seize the beach to land!"
Following the flag, warships of all sizes immediately became busy. Shuangyu Guard's warships were now equipped with guns instead of cannons. In the past, their main method of fighting against others was to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Now, like the Ming Navy, they try their best to fight with others.
Take advantage of weapons to avoid massive casualties. Use artillery within a hundred steps, firecrackers within eighty steps, rockets within sixty steps, barrels within forty steps, and javelins, tomahawks, and fire guns within twenty steps.
Throwing weapons such as caltrop cannons, the closer you are, the more likely it is to rely on hand-to-hand combat.
The Japanese pirates' boats were full of messy things, especially tents, warehouse planks and squares of wood. They were arranged irregularly and the mess was everywhere. The draft was too deep, which limited the flexibility of their boats, and the boats were in a mess.
, leaving them with no place to start if they wanted to fight. Especially they did not expect that the Ming army, which always liked to use huge ships, was actually equipped with countless small boats this time, and easily crossed the natural defense line of the reef group, and
There was no one on my side to direct them in time, and they immediately became a mess, running around like headless chickens.
Ren Juying stood on a giant ship several stories high, condescendingly watching this situation completely. He couldn't help being overjoyed and shouted quickly: "Order all ships to immediately approach the Japanese ship within twenty steps and use fire caltrops cannons and barrels.
Gunpowder cartridges and kerosene barrels burned their ships!”
When the new general order was issued, the Ming army's warships immediately changed their tactics. Soon, several Japanese warships filled with flammable materials were the first to emit flames that rushed into the night, like huge torches, shining brightly.
The sea turned red.
The same scene was played out at the same time on several islands where Japanese pirates gathered. The method of attacking the island was slightly different. This island was the farthest from the mainland and there were no reefs around it. The person responsible for attacking the island was Li Yifeng.
The Chaohu Navy arrived one night in advance and took advantage of the darkness of the night to lay a large number of submarine mines along the island. Before the attack officially started, they were surprised to see the Ming warships appearing and the Japanese pirates fleeing in panic.
At least one-third of the warships hit mines and sank.
When the sea was covered in flames, Xia Xun was walking leisurely into a quiet and elegant temple with a few followers, where he wanted to secretly meet a woman with an important mission.