The Ming navy fleet quickly adjusted its formation after setting out to sea.

The bird boat was in the front.

The bow of the bird boat is very sharp, and looks very similar to a bird's beak from a distance. It is relatively small in size and has a shallow draft, so it can sail steadily in wind and waves.

It is mainly used for reconnaissance and to salvage spoils and corpses from the water after the war.

Keel gunboats and Fu ships were in the middle.

The patrol boats were on guard on the left and right, and the winter ship followed at the end.

With the help of the southeast monsoon, the fleet sailed very fast.

We set out in the morning and arrived at Huangcheng Island, a hundred miles away, in the afternoon.

Huangcheng Island is located between Dengzhou, Shandong and Lushun, Liaodong, and is divided into two islands: Nanhuangcheng and Beihuangcheng.

The Ming army stationed troops here and used it as a springboard to recover southern Liaoning.

After the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army was short of manpower and strategically abandoned Chenghuang Island.

Yuan Shu looked at the island with a telescope in his hand and found no signs of recent activities, so he waved a flag and commanded a small force to land on the island for inspection.

The Ming navy officers and soldiers on the bird boat controlled the warship to the shore, picked up their weapons and went to the island for inspection.

After a round of inspection, he used flag signals to tell Yuan Shu: No one is here, everything is normal.

Yuan Shu used flag signals to tell the ships to drop anchor and rest, and those who wanted to make a fire could go to the island.

The soldiers were very happy and took turns to go to the island to make a fire and play.

As time passed, the sea was shrouded in darkness.

At dawn the next day, the Ming navy finished their meal early and set sail.

It was noon.

The Ming Navy fleet arrived at the sea south of Lushun.

Yuan Shu picked up the clairvoyance and could vaguely see the outline of the coast.

"What is your plan, sir?" On the ship (flagship), the navy commander Huang Fei asked Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu said seriously, "General Huang, tell me what you think."

"I think we should send small boats to lure the enemy out, and then send large ships to support them when they chase us, and then kill them on the sea."

Yuan Shu shook his head slowly: "The Jiannu are not fools. When they see the shadows of our small boats, they will definitely think that there are large ships hidden behind us. At most, they will send a few small boats to chase us. The large army will not be fooled."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Send half of the main force to test the situation, and the other half to stay where they are and prepare for the response."

"But they have built a fort on the shore with red cannons on it." Huang Fei was a little worried.

The power of the Red Cannon is self-evident. Once hit, it will be damaged at best or sink at worst.

Huang Fei didn't want to lose the warship in vain.

"Then let's fight each other! Let's see who has more and more powerful cannons!" Yuan Shu's face showed a fierce look.

This navy has not fought a naval battle for a long time, so it is normal to be afraid of enemy artillery.

Only after experiencing an artillery battle will the fear in their hearts disappear...or intensify.

The Ming navy was like this, and so was the Jiannu navy!

Yuan Shu wanted to give the Ming navy a chance, a chance to confront the Jiannu navy head-on.

If the Ming army wins, the soldiers will be united.

If the Ming army was defeated, they would make a comeback until they found superiority over the Jiannu navy.

The command flag is waving.

The Ming army sent two keel gunboats, four large Fu ships, and dozens of patrol boats, winter ships, and bird ships to the shore.

As the distance got closer, Yuan Shu used his clairvoyance to see the situation on the shore clearly.

There is a fort on the top of the mountain to the north, with several cannons on it.

The Jiannu garrison above discovered something unusual on the sea and loaded ammunition while passing on the message.

boom!

The shell fell into the water far in front of them, and the splash was more than one person high.

Crash!

The command flag was waved again, and the Ming army fleet adjusted its sails and headed northeast.

The batteries on the shore were too high, and the red cannons on their ships could not fire upwards.

You can only take a detour.

In the southern city of Lushun, Kong Youde, the Gongshun King of the Jiannu, was taking a nap.

He was dressed in brocade, and his face was as rugged as a hill ravaged by a strong wind. His eyes were sunken, his nose was flat, and when he slept, his mouth was open, revealing a row of uneven teeth that were disgusting.

"Report!" The scout came running in, "Your Highness, the Ming army is attacking!"

Kong Youde thought he was dreaming, and waved his arms indifferently, saying, "Hit me, hit me hard."

"Your Highness, the Ming army's warships have bypassed the Laotieshan Fort and are heading straight for Laohuwei!" the scout shouted, raising his voice.

Laohuwei is the entrance port of Port Arthur. Once the fleet captures this place, they can dock and land for combat.

"Hmm...ah?" Kong Youde suddenly opened his eyes with an expression of disbelief.

He stood up in a flash and pointed at the scout's nose: "Say it again, damn it!"

After the scout repeated it quickly, Kong Youde's pupils shrank uncontrollably.

The port cannot be lost. Once it is lost, the city of Lushun will be in danger.

Lushun City was first built in the fourth year of Hongwu. At that time, Ma Yun and Ye Wang, the commanders of Ding Liao, led an army of 100,000 to cross the sea and land at "Shizikou". Because the journey was smooth, Shizikou was changed to Lushunkou.

After the two men landed, they set up a temporary camp with wooden fences to station troops and store food.

In the tenth year of Yongle, the commander-in-chief Xu Gang changed the wooden fence camp into a brick wall.

The circumference of the city is 320 meters, and there are two gates in the north and south. The south gate is called Jinghai Gate and the north gate is called Weiwu Gate.

Xu Gang built another city to the south of the brick city. From then on, Lushun City had two cities, north and south.

Troops were stationed in the North City, and the South City served as a transit point for military supplies.

In the 44th year of the Jiajing reign, the Jurchens moved south and demolished the North City, leaving only the South City.

The Nancheng where Kong Youde was located was only a mile away from the port and could not afford to lose.

"How many warships does the Ming army have?" Kong Youde asked calmly.

"Six large ships and forty or fifty small boats."

"Are you sure?" Kong Youde asked.

According to the practice at the time, when not transporting troops, a large warship generally carried more than a hundred naval officers and soldiers, while a small warship could carry anywhere from a dozen to several dozen people.

In other words, the Ming army only had more than a thousand troops dispatched this time.

(According to the data of the Noryang Battle during the Wanli Joseon Campaign, the Ming army deployed 13,000 naval forces and 500 warships of various types, with an average of only 26 soldiers per warship.)

Kong Youde raised his lips slightly: "Although I am not very capable, I still have 3,000 naval forces! The Ming army is looking for death!"

"Quickly tell all the navy soldiers to assemble and board the ships to go out to sea to fight."