Chapter 836 Don’t be afraid of being late for a good meal
The two sides fought fiercely until dawn. When the sun peeked out, the cruel scene covered by darkness finally came into view.
Otomo was stunned to see that the entire Hakata Bay turned red. It was not the golden red dyed red by the morning glow, but the blood red dyed by the densely packed dead bodies and broken limbs floating on the sea surface...
In fact, most of the Japanese soldiers fell into the water and died. On the sea in the cold winter, no matter how good the water quality is, it is useless. They will freeze to death in a short time and then die in despair...
In addition to all kinds of dead bodies on the sea, there are all kinds of broken wooden boards and pieces of wood, which are the wreckage of official ships and small morning boats that were sunk and smashed. There are also many Japanese ships riddled with holes, floating quietly on the sea.
Up there, there was no movement...
"Shura, purgatory..." Otomo groaned, his legs slumped and he sat on the deck. Such a cruel scene is enough to make even the craziest person feel timid.
As soon as the sea breeze blew, the strong smell of blood made the remaining Japanese soldiers wake up from their dreams. Their crazy courage quickly ebbed, and the timidity and fear that had been temporarily covered up reoccupied everyone's hearts.
Otomo's personal estimate is that the Kyushu Navy has probably lost nearly half of its strength since the war began.
The most frightening thing is that there are still so many Ming warships, none of them were sunk, and almost none were seriously damaged.
The Ming troops on the ship were still harvesting the lives of the Japanese troops with high morale, and then after half a tea break, they fired a round of artillery, sinking all the Japanese ships around them...
The follow-up warships of the Japanese army surrounded them slower and slower, and fewer and fewer ships were willing to go aboard to die. It was no longer possible to form a circle around the Ming warships, and the pressure on the Ming army was getting smaller and smaller.
"Sir, if you persist any longer, you will die in vain." His lieutenant reminded Otomo in a low voice: "Let's withdraw quickly while most of our warships are intact."
The Otomo family's navy and their army maintained the same style, so it was always the Matsuura family and the Shimazu family's navy who were sent to death at the front, but the two navy forces were already fighting to the death. If they continued,
It's time for his great friend to die.
"..." Otomo thought for a moment and made a difficult decision: "Tell the two families that our army will lead the way and act according to the original plan."
~~
"Act according to the original plan?" Matsuura Hianobu and Shimazu Hisashi were stunned when they received the news.
Fortunately, at this time, Otomo's army had already solved their doubts with practical actions. Otomo personally directed his men's warships to turn around and prepare to flee.
Only then did the two of them remember that they had agreed to retreat immediately when the situation turned bad.
"Didn't it change to an all-out attack?" Matsuura Hiranobu couldn't accept it: "Why did it change back when it was their turn?"
"Shameless!" Shimazu cursed angrily and quickly ordered his remaining subordinates to withdraw from the battle immediately without any delay.
At this time, the maneuverability and flexibility of the Japanese ships finally came into play, and they soon separated from the Ming army. However, they inevitably suffered another round of shelling when they retreated...
The Ming army did not launch a pursuit. When they turned the heavy battleship around, the Japanese army did not know where to escape, so there was no need to waste their efforts.
After that round of shelling, the Japanese army breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this nightmare was finally over.
Regardless of being sad about the death of their comrades, most of them first thought of the joy of surviving the disaster.
Many sailors whispered that they would never get on the ship again after returning, but would farm in peace and stability. Even if they died of poverty and starvation, they did not want to face the terrifying Ming army and the terrifying Ming army warships again.
The three of them pretended not to hear Otomo's name, because they themselves were also thinking of finding another way out. There was no way to mess around at sea... At this moment, the entire Kyushu Navy reached a high degree of consensus.
However, they were lucky to be early. At this time, the sun jumped high above the water, and a row of warships that had been obscured by the morning light at the mouth of the bay appeared.
This is the squadron led by Yu Tongjiang.
It was true that they hung up red lanterns last night, but they were not far away, lying in ambush on the north side of Shiga Island. They silently watched the Japanese warships pour into Hakata Bay.
When the sound of artillery fire in the bay was loud and the fierce battle began, Yu Tongjiang led his men back to the mouth of the bay to wait for the retreating Japanese troops.
What? What if the Ming army is defeated? This possibility does not exist, and strength does not allow you to understand? As long as you are cautious, you will not capsize.
So from late night to dawn, Yu Tongjiang and the fifty warships under his command just watched from a distance as the main fleet in the bay slaughtered all directions. They felt itchy and unbearable, but they could only watch obediently at their posts.
Fortunately, the Japanese troops did not fight to the end and retreated at dawn, leaving half a table of food for them.
"Damn it, it's our turn!" Yu Tongjiang put down the telescope, spat fiercely, and ordered in a deep voice: "Tell the brothers, don't be in a hurry to fire, the upper level should be placed eighty feet before firing, and the lower level should be within ten feet before firing!
Let’s give them something enjoyable first!”
"Yes!" the herald quickly hoisted the signal flag and sent a signal to the surrounding warships.
~~
The retreating Japanese soldiers were all numb.
During the previous battle, they discovered that the number of Ming warships was wrong, but they couldn't care less. It turned out that they actually still had the strength to divide their forces to stop the attack.
But until now, they still couldn't figure out why the Ming army hung up those red lanterns. It was completely unnecessary.
Dayou's name makes his intestines turn green with regret.
Originally, according to the secret principles of the Otomo family, it is safest to charge in the rear and retreat in the front... Unexpectedly, we encountered an obstruction, and this time we really took the lead.
If I had known this, I should have stopped and let them retreat first. It was useless to say anything now. I could only bite the bullet and say loudly: "Don't stop, row as fast as you can and rush over. You can escape as much as you can."
At this time, the Japanese army didn't need to talk nonsense at all, and they were rowing desperately. They only wished that their parents had given him a pair of hands. Even the soldiers used spear poles and even samurai swords to help row, trying to make the boat faster.
point.
So in a blink of an eye, the Japanese army entered the range of the Ming army's artillery. The soldiers followed the general's order and waited until they were eighty feet away before firing.
The rumble of gunfire echoed throughout the bay again.
Although the sound of this round of artillery was not as intensive, because it was daytime, the damage caused looked ten times more terrifying than at night.
With such a close range bombardment, a single shell hitting the bow of the ship could turn the rows of rowers on the ship into candied haws.
After a ship was hit by a cannonball, half of the people had no heads. The other half had brains all over their faces, screaming in terror and randomly touching themselves to see which part was missing.
Their fear lasted until the Ming army's lower-level artillery shelled them. Under the hail of artillery fire, not even the people or the boat were spared. This time, the people on the boat no longer needed to be afraid.
