The two armored warships slowly sailed into the Gulf of Mannar under the cover of darkness, quietly passed through the narrow waterway and entered the Palk Strait in the middle of the night.
The armored warships did not continue to move toward Guri Port. Although this place was less than seventy or eighty miles away from Guri Port, the mission of these two ships at the moment was not to attack, but to garrison here.
On the Yansui, Zhang Yanling led a dozen guards out of the ship's hall and came to the deck. On the side of the ship, a rope ladder was ready. A speed boat below was also prepared under the ship's side.
In the darkness, Zhang Yanling saw the Armada soldiers lined up in vertical rows on the deck. Led by Liu Tan, the captain of the Yansui ironclad ship, and Feng Sihai, the captain of the Ningxia, they were lining up to bid farewell to Zhang Yanling.
"Salute!" Liu Tan yelled, and all the soldiers crossed their arms and saluted Zhang Yanling as he came.
Zhang Yanling returned the greeting with a smile, and walked slowly to Liu Tan and Feng Sihai.
"General Liu, General Feng, everything here is left to you. The Yansui and Ningxia will undergo major tests. I hope you two can work closely together to complete your assigned tasks."
Liu Tan and Feng Sihai both raised their hands and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Lord, I will live up to the orders of the Lord in this humble position. If there is anything wrong, please bring it up and see me."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Okay, I believe you. You two have a heavy responsibility, which is related to the success or failure of the Guli Port battle. And you will be under great pressure. Can you hold the waterway and block the Folangji's return fleet?"
, it’s up to you. If the attack is successful, it will be a great achievement. Do you understand?”
"I understand my humble position. Even if I fight to the death, I will not give in even half a step."
"Please rest assured, Mr. Guo, even if I, Feng Mazi, die here, I will not let the Folangji people pass. If they want to pass, they have to press over my body."
Liu Tan and Feng Sihai shouted loudly.
Zhang Yanling patted Feng Sihai on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother Feng, your bravery is admirable. I hope you can communicate more with General Liu and cooperate more with the two ships. Listen to General Liu's opinions more. Don't just blindly
Charge and fight fiercely, remember that your task is to prevent the other party from returning reinforcements. As long as you achieve this goal, you will be successful. As for how many people you kill and how many ships you destroy, that is secondary. Do you understand?"
Feng Sihai laughed loudly and said: "Don't worry, Lord Guo, I will listen to Lao Liu's command this time. He is my flagship."
Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded. The reason why Zhang Yanling specifically warned Feng Sihai was because Feng Sihai was brave but not strategic. Zhang Yanling hoped that he would listen to Liu Tan's command and the two would cooperate together.
"My Lord Protector, you must take great care when you personally participate in surprise attacks. I know that you like to participate in risky surprise attacks. You have always taken the lead and are unwilling to stand aside. However, your safety is related to the success or failure of the war and the morale of the entire army. I hope that Lord Protector of the Country
You must be careful." Liu Tan said solemnly.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Thank you for reminding me. I will be careful."
Zhang Yanling raised his head and looked at the rows of soldiers on the deck. Although the sky was dark, their eyes were shining brightly.
Zhang Yanling bowed to them and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, please."
All the soldiers raised their hands in unison and said, "Your Majesty, you are welcome. Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty."
Zhang Yanling nodded, turned around, and descended from the side rope ladder to the boat on the sea. The soldiers rushed to the side of the deck and watched Zhang Yanling and a dozen others disappear into the dark sea in the boat.
Zhang Yanling's fast boat is a small boat. It can only accommodate a dozen people and the draft is not deep, so it can sail freely on the water. The boat is heading north along the shallow sea area of the coastline of Ceylon Island on the dark sea.
Sailing.
There were no sails on the boat, so the soldiers on the boat rowed the oars, but the speed was not slow. The soldiers on the boat took turns rowing every hour, and the speed of the boat did not slow down, all the way north. A few hours passed, and when the sky was dimming, the clipper had already crossed
The location corresponding to Guri Port crosses more than half of the strait.
Because it was a small boat, even though there was a reconnaissance ship of the Folan aircraft cruising outside Guri Port, they paid no attention to the small boat. They saw the small boat, but they did not realize at all that the people sitting on the small boat were
He is actually the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty’s Invincible Fleet.
Of course, even if they recognized Zhang Yanling's identity, there was nothing they could do. Their ship could not reach the shallow water, so they could only watch helplessly. What's more, in their opinion, it was just a tin fishing boat.
It’s just a small fishing boat from Lan State.
In the afternoon, the boat successfully crossed the middle section of the Palk Strait and arrived at the Bay of Bengal in the north. The sea here was very open and the water gradually turned dark blue. On the north side of the strait near the island of Ceylon, the boat saw the two moored boats.
Sailing boat on the sea.
The people on the boat were also searching for traces. When they saw the small boat in the distance, the two sailboats hurriedly came closer. When they got a few miles away, both sides had clearly seen the people on the other side's boat. Suddenly there was a burst of cheers.
The two wooden sailing ships set off more than ten days ago around the north side of Ceylon Island and arrived at the northern exit of the Palk Strait from the Bay of Bengal. Chen Shi, Huo Shijian and other 500 personal guards were waiting here.
With the arrival of Zhang Yanling, these five hundred people will be the main force in the attack on Guli Port.
After Zhang Yanling boarded the ship, all the officers and men on the ship were happy. They had been waiting here for a day.
"My lord, you are here. My brothers can't wait to attack. Have the Fo Langji people been fooled? Have all their ships left?" When Chen Shi saw Zhang Yanling, he laughed loudly and saluted.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Everything is as we imagined. They mobilized in full force and rushed to Goa Port to catch us all. Hahaha. The Yansui and Ningxia are already in place. Next, it is our turn to appear."
Chen Shi nodded and said with a smile: "Then what are you waiting for? That's the order from the Lord. How do we attack? It's time for you to figure it out now, right? The brothers are all murmuring in their hearts, wondering how you are going to attack. We have no horses.
There are no cannons and no big ships, what are we going to do?"
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "Don't worry, it only takes a few hours to cross the strait. You can only move after dark. Now we have to do an important thing. Assemble our new toys. You should be able to learn it in an afternoon."
.”
In addition to the necessary supplies, the cabin of the wooden sailboat contained bundles of canvas and bamboo poles that had been loaded onto the ship before. The two sailboats were close to each other, and people on the deck could move around freely. Zhang Yanling summoned everyone and ordered them to
The canvas and bamboo poles were all carried onto the deck of a ship.
"You have seen it clearly. You will have to make this thing by yourself in a while. It is very simple and you can learn it once you learn it." Zhang Yanling smiled and started to do it.
Everyone had no idea what the Duke was going to do. They saw him cutting out a triangular canvas about ten feet wide with a knife, and using bamboo and bamboo nails to make a frame composed of four or five bamboos. Then he covered the canvas with bamboo.
on the triangular surface of the upper end of the frame.
"What's this?"
"Some of them look like kites? The big kites we fly in spring in our hometown are very similar to this one."
"I don't think it's a kite. How can a kite be made of canvas and bamboo poles? How strong is the wind for it to fly into the sky?"
"Even if it's a kite...why do you want to build a kite?"
Everyone was talking about it. Zhang Yanling said nothing and adjusted the bindings by himself. He tied two ropes to the bamboo structures of the delta wings on both sides. He pulled and pulled, and the wing tips flickered and moved.
"My lord, have you made a canvas bird?" Huo Shijian saw some clues.
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "You can think of it this way, it is a bird. But it is a bird that can make us fall from the sky. Let me show you first how to use this thing. Just take a look."
Zhang Yanling spoke, looked around, looked up at the tall mainmast on the ship, and then climbed up the mast. Everyone was stunned, fearing an accident, and shouted to be careful. Zhang Yanling went up alone. Climb to the top of the mast. The mainmast is about seven or eight feet high, and the top is tens of meters above the sea. Zhang Yanling thinks this height should be about the same. He stands on the top of the mast and throws down the rope to let the people below lift the canvas he has been busy building for a long time. The big bird was tied to the rope, and his hands alternately pulled it up.
Everyone stood on the deck and looked up at Zhang Yanling on the top of the mast, wrapping one leg around the mast, freeing up his body to tie the big canvas bird to his body, and it suddenly seemed as if he had grown a pair of wings.
"Could it be that Mr. Guo... wants to fly? If he can't, he will fall to death." The people below were panicked for a while.
Chen Shiyi, Huo Shijian and others even shouted: "Master, no, don't take risks. It's too dangerous."
Zhang Yanling turned a deaf ear and only thought silently in his heart. Later generations were considered experts at playing hang gliders. This is a simple hang glider made entirely according to the structure of later hang gliders. Although the materials are different, the umbrella surface and the frame are different. The material is the same, but there shouldn't be a big problem. I increased the size, so I should be able to complete the flying process.
This is not the first time I have made this thing. I played in Xishan Manor for a while and flew once while standing on the high tower in the middle. At that time, I was so scared that Youtang screamed. I flew directly from the top of Wild Dog Ridge to the reservoir. , it felt good, but then Xu Youtang dismantled the hang glider and begged himself not to do it. He had no choice but to give up. This was the second time he had done this, and he still felt a little confident.
Besides, there is the sea below. No matter what happens, you will not fall off the boat, and you will not die if you fall into the sea. You can't hesitate and be afraid at this time.
"Amitabha, Bodhisattva bless you." Zhang Yanling shouted, jumped out, and hung under the triangular flying wings. The flying wings flew out with a whoosh, and suddenly went down, scaring everyone on the deck to scream. But The next moment, Zhang Yanling adjusted his posture and tilted his head forward. Soon, he started to soar in the air like a big bird.
Everyone looked at all this with their mouths agape. They never expected that the Duke of Guo actually made something that could fly. But Zhang Yanling was seen gliding gracefully in the air and actually flew around the ship. .But because the height was too low, it could not maintain a long-term glide, and finally landed on the deck unsteadily.
"Wow! That's amazing." Everyone cheered, and the applause was endless.
Chen Shiyi finally understood what the Duke of Guo had said before, about attacking the enemy in an unexpected way, with divine soldiers descending from the sky, killing them by surprise. He also vaguely guessed how Zhang Yanling was going to attack.