However, not long after the Awaji Navy's new arsonist ship joined the battle group, a bonfire was suddenly lit on Sumoto Castle, signaling the approach of enemy troops from the north.
"So fast?" An Zhai Dongkang was surprised when he saw this, "Didn't you say the speed was very slow?"
Tokawa Demho and Miyoshi Nagaharu who reported the news did not know that Yu Qiupei had already bought ten sailboats on the west side of the Akashi Strait. After the ironclad ship broke through, they followed the same pattern. How did they pull the ironclad ship from Kishiwada Port to the Akashi Strait before?
Now let's tie the armored ship to a cable and use ten sailboats to pull it from the Akashi Strait to the Naruto Strait.
Anzai Fuyayasu hurriedly ordered the 300 ships on hand to turn to alert and began to beware of the enemy forces in the rear. He took one last look at the fire scene in the Naruto Strait to the south. The blue sea and sky were filled with raging fire and smoke. Then he turned his head
, looking towards the approaching enemy ship to the north.
"As long as you persist until the fire attack is completed, you will win." Anzhai Dongkang said to himself in his heart, "He only has one ship to break through. What can one ship change?"
Then he saw the maple bird horse print appearing from the north along the coastline and the giant ship under the horse print——
The black ship is coming.
·
"The black ship is coming."
The moment Anzhai Fuyasu saw the armored ship described by Tokawa Demho and Miyoshi Nagaharu with his own eyes, he suddenly felt powerless as never before.
It wasn't the craftsmanship of this ship that seemed incomprehensible now that made him feel powerless, but because it overturned some of An Zhai Dongkang's judgments that he thought were common sense.
He believed that no ship could pass through the forts in the Akashi Strait. This was something that did not need to be tested and was the most correct common sense. Now, it is no longer common sense. He believed that ships can only be made of wood, and iron cannot be used in
What floats on water is something that does not need to be tested. It is common sense that is correct. Now, it is no longer common sense.
How much more common sense will be broken? How much more experience will be falsified?
Will tradition... really lose to new forces?
As the sailboats pulling the black ship left one by one, the speed of the black ship also slowed down significantly, slowly approaching the Awaji navy. Fuyayasu Anzai watched helplessly as the sailors on the bow of the black ship tried their best to pull.
A huge piece of tarpaulin fell off - and the dark bow cannon was exposed underneath.
What Tokawa Deho and Miyoshi Nagaharu said before - this ship has no offensive means has also been proven wrong.
"The ironclad ship passed through the strait horizontally, and the bow gun did not have a shooting angle, so it did not fire just now." Anzhai Fuyasu concluded, "Everyone is on alert! It will enter the range of Hongye Fleet's cannon in a while..."
Before he finished speaking, the muzzle of the ship's bow gun flashed with flames, followed immediately by the roar of the cannon and a huge projectile rushing towards him at high speed.
Anzhai Fuyasu has never seen a large cannon that can hit such a distance, not even the Hongye Fleet.
Obviously, Hongye Fleet has developed more powerful firearms.
A blow from the giant cannon directly hit a Kansai ship not far from Anzhai Dongkang's flagship, piercing his wooden house and deck together, sending debris flying. The Kansai ship instantly opened a crack from the middle, and the sailors on board were panicking.
In the panic, they were either thrown off the ship or paddled into the cracks. Those sailors who tried hard to hold on to the fixed objects could only sink with the ship in despair.
An Zhai Dongkang took a deep breath.
The current is flowing from the Naruto Strait to the Kii Channel, and the Kurofune coming from the north is following the current - but they are going against the current.
They have no retreat - behind them is the fire scene of the Naruto Strait. This ship must be killed, right here.
"All troops advance." Anzhai Dongyasu gave an order that a wise naval commander would not give - charge against the current.
A large number of wooden boats of the Awaji navy struggled against the current and approached the giant iron-clad ship. Even the largest Anzha ship was as small as an ant in front of the black ship. The huge cannon on the bow of the ship kept firing, harvesting nothing.
A helpless life.
At that moment, Anzhai Dongkang suddenly felt a little sad, the sadness that only martyrs can feel.
That was the desolation of a commander who led a wooden boat to attack an ironclad ship in vain.
The large and small ships of the Awaji Navy quickly surrounded the ironclad ship from both sides and from all directions. They fired baked bombs, arrows, and iron cannons at the ironclad ship non-stop, but they were lost in front of the iron gunners of the Red Leaf Army on the ironclad ship.
Disastrous. Their attacks were completely ineffective against the armor, and the condescending Hongye Army iron gunners also had an advantage in the exchange of fire.
"Get closer, jump gang!" Anzhai Dongyasu gave this order that almost led to his death - how could the jump gang jump onto a ship that was so much higher than itself? Isn't this just a siege at sea?
Countless small wooden boats were like ants besieging the elephant, swarming towards the ironclad ship. As the flag above the ironclad ship waved a few times, the elephant also showed its tusks.
Two rows of gun windows were opened on the sides of the ship on both sides.
The muzzles of 40 black guns were pushed out and pointed at the unsuspecting Awaji navy.
After the fire flashed, the screams covered up the roar. Countless ships were smashed to pieces by the close-range shooting. Blood, broken bodies and sawdust flew into the sky and onto the sea. Everyone was stunned.
Until the second round of artillery fire came, wiping the dust from the clean sea like cleaning a house.
Some water pirates had collapsed and tried their best to escape in the opposite direction by boat, but they still couldn't escape under the attack of artillery fire. Others samurai rushed up by boat regardless of their own safety - Suga Tatsucho was one of them.
The leader. He already knows that there will be no good results in this battle. He wants to wash away the shame of being defeated in the last battle.
Tatsucho Suga threw the hook onto the side of the armored ship. After hooking it firmly, he started to climb up the armor by pedaling on it. However, the armor was stained with sea water and was too slippery. He could not climb up anyhow. He struggled to insert his samurai sword into the armor.
, tried to use the knife to stabilize the force, but the sharp samurai sword was broken into several pieces at the moment of collision. Suga Tatsucho glanced at the broken knife in his hand in despair, laughed sadly, and threw the broken knife away.
After entering the sea, he held the rope with both hands and climbed up hand and foot. He knew that even if he climbed up without weapons, he would die - but now, he just wanted to climb up.
While crawling, he saw some shallow dents on the surface of some iron armor - the shells of the coastal defense guns that could directly smash their wooden ships, but could only leave such helpless marks on the black ship, as if they were powerless.
Same as him.
He climbed hard, tried hard, but his progress was slow. The black ship kept shaking due to the recoil of firing, and almost threw him off several times. Finally, when he raised his hand, he found a place where he could put his hand.
He excitedly put his other hand up, then suddenly retracted his body and climbed up.
Then he realized that what he was leaning against was not the side of the ship, but the gun window. In front of his face, he could see a dark, bottomless hole that was bigger than his own face.
The next second, there was a flash of fire.
·
The Suruga Maru was flashing with fire, constantly harvesting the lives of the Awaji navy. Countless samurai and pirates tried desperately to get close to the Suruga Maru and climbed up, but they were knocked down one by one by the iron gunners like driving stakes. Some of them were beaten down one by one.
The desperate warriors set fire to the ship and crashed it into the armored ship, but to no avail. In this humid environment, the armor could not be lit at all.
More and more ships are sinking, more and more naval forces are falling, and the Seto Inland Sea is full of shipwrecks and human remains. The seawater under the setting sun turns red, making it difficult to tell what is where.
The sunset is still blood.
Anzai Toyasu stood on his flagship, desperately watching the destruction of the Awaji Navy, but there was nothing he could do.
"I am not a bloodline of the Anzhai family, but an adopted one. Now that the gods of the Seto Inland Sea are in power, are they still unwilling to bless me?"
He opened his arms, raised his head, and looked at the bright red sky and the gods in the sky, but the gods seemed to be dripping with blood.
He seemed to instantly understand the whispers of the gods:
It’s not that I don’t bless you, it’s that I can’t do anything about it.
The traditions passed down and accumulated by countless people from generation to generation are ultimately no match for this black ship. Faced with the crushing force of material differences, the efforts of all traditional forces are as tragic and gorgeous as heroic epics, but they are useless.
The crimson sky, the blood-red sea water, sandwiched between them is Shura Purgatory.
"Light the fire."
An Zhai Dongkang ordered calmly.
"Your Highness?" The guard beside him was a little surprised. He was already panicking and even his voice began to tremble. "The arson boat is useless against that monster... Didn't your Highness see it? We only have these few boats left. Let everyone evacuate."
Bar."
"Yes." Fuyayasu Anzai nodded, "Let Inuko lead the remaining troops to retreat. At the same time, inform His Highness Toga to abandon Iwaya Port and the fort and retreat south to Yanagisawa. Let His Highness the House Governor take this team and my Awaji people
, also retreated north to Yanagisawa. Let Inuko lead the remnants of the Awaji Navy, pick them up and quickly return to Shikoku. The Awaji Navy was destroyed, and Awaji Island could not be defended. Now the tide is moving from the Naruto Strait to the Kii Channel.
, the black ship is too bulky to return north to Yanagisawa immediately, and the main force of the Momiji Fleet is also trapped in the fire in the Naruto Strait. The waterway to the north is still safe. If we don’t withdraw now, it will be too late in the future, and everyone will
Trapped on Awaji Island.”
After hearing this, the guard went to deliver the order and came back soon.
"You missed an order." Anzhai Dongkang said in a low voice, not looking at the guards, but at the black ship.
"What order?" the guard asked in confusion.
"Light the fire." Anzhai Dongkang repeated calmly.
"Aren't you going to retreat?" The guard suddenly panicked.
"Click this one." Anzhai Dongkang raised his hand, shook his wrist downwards, and slowly pointed at the deck under his feet with his fingers.
"Your Highness..." The guards around him suddenly became anxious and gathered around him.
"This is your Royal Highness's final order as the commander of the Awaji Navy." Anzhai Fuyayasu suddenly smiled at them, "Execute it."
·
In the evening, after the Awaji navy was completely defeated, Nobuyasu Azaya led the remaining less than 200 ships and fled towards Yanagisawa. Fuyayasu Azaya lit his flagship and sailed slowly towards the black ships. Rain
After seeing this, Qiu Hongye ordered Suruga Maru not to fire, but to quietly greet the last arson ship and make useless efforts.
The tongues of fire kept licking the wood and devouring the whole ship. In the raging fire, the guards of Anzhai Dongkang were also making their last efforts.
"Your Highness, please withdraw. The days are long."
"No need." Anzhai Dongkang untied his bun, tied up his messy hair with a rope, simply loosened his clothes, rolled up his sleeves, and put on a hat. Just like an ordinary man
They are no longer ordinary, just like the countless water thieves who have been wandering in the Seto Inland Sea for most of their lives in the long history.
"The captain stays with his ship."
"A sea-seeker should stay with his sea."
Chapter completed!