When a hurricane strikes, the waves on the sea are rough and the waves are rolling. The wind is violent and the rain is fierce. The sky is thick with dark clouds. There are lightning and thunder, and there is darkness between the sky and the earth. The lightning in the clouds is like a whip, lashing the sea surface. The thunder is rolling and deafening.
Not long ago, the sky was clear and the sea was calm with blue waves and white clouds. At this moment, it was as scary as eighteen layers of hell. It seemed as if the end was coming.
The actions of Huo Shijian, Tian Dongxin and others were naturally in vain. They cursed God angrily, but there was nothing they could do.
The large iron-clad ship has a strong ability to withstand wind and waves. After all, it is a warship with a large tonnage and its stability is also very good. But even so, in the huge waves and strong winds, the ship heaves violently, and it appears to be very fragile in the waves, heavy rain and strong winds. It feels like a small boat.
Zhang Yanling had been paying attention to the weather. He stood in the cabin and frowned at the violent storm, lightning, and thunder outside.
Chen Shiyi said from the side: "Master, please come into the cabin. The boat is rocking hard and there is some danger on it. Although we can't carry out tonight's operation, there may be a storm that sinks those small boats. Maybe God will help us. Woolen cloth."
"General Chen, those boats are anchored on the edge of the island. They cannot be sunk by hurricanes. They are shoals. The anchors are fixed and the boats are connected together. There is nothing wrong with them. If the fishermen in my hometown encounter a storm at sea, That’s how we do it. Just find a small island and gather the boats together and it’ll be fine.” Huo Shijian couldn’t help but say.
Chen Shiyi scolded: "You talk too much. If you don't speak, will others think you are mute?"
Huo Shijian hurriedly shut up. Chen Shiyi thought angrily: I comforted the prince and made him feel better, but you said such things. The plan was ruined. I don't know how angry the prince was.
Zhang Yanling seemed not to have listened to the conversation between the two. She only stood in front of the long window and looked at the raging wind and rain, lightning and thunder, and the rolling waves on the sea.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, seemingly hitting the waves of the sea, illuminating a large area of the sea. Then, a thunder exploded overhead, making everyone's ears buzz.
Chen Shiyi said loudly: "Master, please go back to the cabin to rest. It is really dangerous here."
Zhang Yanling turned around and said in a deep voice: "Send the order, lift anchor and set off."
"What?" Chen Shiyi's ears were still buzzing, and the sound of wind and rain outside was very noisy, so he couldn't hear clearly for a while.
"Send orders to all ships to weigh anchor and set off for the attack. The target is Colombo Port!" Zhang Yanling shouted loudly.
This time Chen Shi heard it clearly, and everyone in the boat hall heard it clearly. Everyone looked at Zhang Yanling in shock, with disbelief on their faces.
"What? Do you want me to personally give the order? Weigh anchor and attack Colombo Port." Zhang Yanling shouted sharply.
Chen Shi suddenly woke up, put on his hat and rushed out of the ship's hall. A moment later, there was a commotion on the Star. Dozens of soldiers rushed onto the deck and began to shake the winch in the pouring rain. As the iron chains rattled, The anchor, weighing more than two thousand kilograms, emerged from the water and left the water little by little. The Star lost its anchor and suddenly swayed even more in the wind and waves, and the ship's hull began to float southwestward with the wind.
At the same time, two green fireworks bombs soared into the sky amidst the dark curtain of rain from high on the ship building. They lit up the sky like lightning. Although they were quickly annihilated in the rain, the nearby escorting ironclads had also been captured. After a while, the Datong and Liaoyuan sent signals respectively, and the entire fleet quickly received the order to weigh anchor and set off.
"Set up the sails and use the wind to speed up. We must arrive at Colombo Port before dawn and launch an attack." Zhang Yanling ordered again.
"Ah! In such weather, the sails are raised in the hurricane..." Everyone was stunned again. However, the Duke's order could not be violated. The soldiers rushed to the deck and pulled up the main sail. As soon as the main sail was raised, it was hit by the hurricane.
It was swaying, almost torn to pieces. The Star also began to move forward at an extremely fast speed.
Everyone was concentrating on steering the ship fearfully. At this time, they could only go with the flow and use the paddle rudder to control the direction. The biggest goal was to ensure that the ship did not spin or capsize.
Fortunately, the armored warship was large enough and stable enough. Although the rough waves made the warship almost lose control at the beginning, even if the hull tilted or pitched forward and backward, it still did not capsize, showing good wave resistance.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty treasure ship was not built. When Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, he experienced many stormy seas without capsizing. What's more, this is an improved iron-clad warship, with better stability and controllability than the treasure ships of that year. So it seems
It seemed frightening, but it was not in danger. The Star sailed quickly toward the southwest amid lightning, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain, weaving through the wind and waves like a giant whale in the wind and waves.
The other armored warships also raised their main sails after weighing anchor, followed closely behind the Star, and rushed into the rough waves and violent storm.
On the Liaoyuan, Zhang Yin sat steadily in the cabin, staring at the sea. The warship bumped, but Zhang Yin remained unmoved and sat there steadily, as if there were roots under his feet.
A general next to him came forward and said: "Sir, what do you think is going on, Lord? In this kind of weather, you actually want to launch an attack? This is too dangerous. I was cautious before, but now I am so aggressive. At the end of the day,
You will be so stupid that you don’t know why the Lord Protector did what he did.”
Zhang Yin turned his head and stared at the general coldly. The general was frightened and took a step back.
"Cai Liangchen, who gave you the courage to criticize and criticize the Lord Protector behind his back? Do you want to die?"
The general was startled and hurriedly knelt down and shouted: "I don't dare, I don't mean that. I don't have any disrespect for the Lord Protector, but I just don't understand why the Lord Protector did this? General I deserve to die."
Please punish me, sir."
Zhang Yin stared at him coldly and shouted: "Get up. If you hadn't been brave in battle, loyal and reliable, and made a lot of achievements, I would not spare you today. If you dare to talk behind your back again in the future, I will chop you down with a knife.
Got you."
Cai Liangchen was almost sweating. While wiping the sweat, he stood up and apologized.
Zhang Yin looked at the wind, rain, lightning and thunder outside, and said in a deep voice: "I completely admire the courage of the Duke. Who dares to issue such an order in this kind of weather? I didn't even dare to think about it.
But the Protector of the Kingdom gave the order and did so. You said that the Lord Protector was cautious before, but today he is radical? You know nothing.
He was cautious because he knew that the opponent had set a trap, so why did he just dive in? Using the soldiers to protect the country seemed risky, but in fact he was extremely cautious in every step. He was not a reckless person. It was just that he used more troops to win by surprise, so
In the eyes of others, it was a risk. However, that was his decision after careful consideration."
Cai Liangchen nodded hurriedly after hearing this and said: "Yes, the general has learned the lesson. The general also knew about the Lord Protector leading the army to fight before, and thought it was a risk. When the Lord said this today, the general finally understood. This
It’s about winning through surprise, not taking risks.”
Zhang Yin said in a deep voice: "As long as you understand."
Cai Liangchen said: "But this time, we will also win by surprise, right?"
Zhang Yin glanced at Cai Liangchen and said in a deep voice: "If I don't explain it clearly to you, I'm afraid you will always have a knot in your heart. Do you know why the Lord Protector ordered to move forward at this moment? Because this hurricane and heavy rain provide us with the most
A good time to fight."
Cai Liangchen said angrily: "Sir, are you saying that this windy and rainy weather is still the best fighter plane?"
Zhang Yin said in a deep voice: "The enemy set up an encirclement and attacked with more than a hundred ships. This is an extremely vicious strategy. Once they succeed, it will be difficult for us to deal with it. That's why we have to launch a sneak attack tonight.
Burned their ships. But once the storm came, this problem was solved. I want to ask, in such weather, even if those small boats knew our movements, would they dare to act on the sea? "
"Oh, that's true. How dare those small boats move in such wind and waves?" Cai Liangchen suddenly exclaimed.
"Besides, their biggest threat is to set fire to the ship and besiege the ship. Let me ask you, in this windy and rainy day, will their fire attack strategy be successful? Can the fire be lit? Even if it is lit, it will be extinguished by the rain. Even if it is lit, it will be extinguished by the rain.
They were not afraid of the wind and waves, and finally arrived at our backs. Do they pose any threat to us without being able to ignite the fire? Are they going to ram their ships into our armored ships? Isn't this just an egg against a stone?" Zhang Yin sneered.
Cai Liangchen nodded repeatedly, cursing himself for being stupid for not even thinking of such a simple truth.
"In addition, this hurricane will completely disrupt the opponent's combat plan. The opponent must have set up a posture to fight us outside the Colombo port, using fire ships to attack behind us and attack from both sides, making it difficult for us to cope with it. But this hurricane
As soon as this happened, not only did they defeat the plan of attacking with fire from behind, but the warships they had set up in formation were bound to enter the harbor to escape the hurricane. Once a ship enters the harbor, it is like a turtle in the urn. I am invincible.
When the fleet arrives at the Port of Colombo at the speed of a hurricane, the other party will not even realize that we will appear in front of them. This hurricane not only destroyed their combat deployment, but also made them deaf and blind. We arrived at the Port of Colombo
At that time, they were probably still sleeping on the shore. Let us completely destroy them without any resistance." Zhang Yin continued to say in a deep voice.
Cai Liangchen's eyes were bright, and he seemed to be dumbfounded. With his wisdom and combat strategy, he never expected that this seemingly risky action, which he could not understand, would have such surprising connotations.
"This is a surprise move, a real surprise move. I am convinced, I am completely convinced. The Protector's strategy and wisdom are beyond our knowledge by a lot. It's ridiculous that I actually think that he did this as a momentary radical move.
.The general is really ashamed and has no place." Cai Liangchen sighed.
Zhang Yin laughed and said, "I had the same idea when I followed Duke Protector. Over the years, I have finally been able to guess some of his thoughts. You will understand more in the future.
Cai Liangchen, I am optimistic about you, you are a good imitator, and you may be a figure in the future."
Cai Liangchen bowed and said: "I will definitely work hard in the end."
Zhang Yin turned his head and looked at the darkness outside, which was as big as the mouth of a beast. The flashing electric light in the wind and rain illuminated the terrifying scene of the turbulent sea. He said in a deep voice: "Actually, the Lord Protector did this with some risks.
In this kind of weather, it is extremely dangerous to lift anchor and sail at night. How can ordinary people dare to give such an order? However, I think he must feel that our armored warfare
The boat can withstand such weather. This is what I admire most about him. Not only his clever strategies and unique tricks, but more importantly, his courage and determination. Whatever he determines and thinks about, he will be able to do it without hesitation.
Do it without hesitation, with no distractions, without looking forward or backward. If it were me, I would have to think about it for several days before I dare to make this decision. The Protector is a very human being, and cannot be compared to people like us."
Cai Liangchen nodded slowly and remained silent. After a while, he said in a deep voice: "Sir, I will humbly go to the deck and watch. The wind and waves are getting worse. I have to be with my brothers."
Zhang Yin waved his hand, and Cai Liangchen turned around and left, rushing into the wind and rain.