It would take a long time for tens of thousands of warships to pass safely even in broad daylight.
With this much time, the Athenian navy would have been prepared!
What's more, it's a dark and windy night, and all the stars in the sky are blocked by clouds.
It is very difficult to pass through the passage accurately and successfully carry out a sneak attack.
Of course, what is very difficult in common sense is no pressure for the Stoby fleet now.
Because they have the king’s groundbreaking invention – the compass!
Comparing the nautical chart in his hand, the Prime Minister carefully passed through the passage and asked Xia Zhe how to attack.
"What else can we do? Just sneak up on it, set a fire and run away!" Xia Zhe gave a decisive answer.
Xia Zhe had a shadow in his heart about the Athenian fleet and Themistocles.
He felt that a small profit would be enough and he shouldn't expect big results!
The most important thing is to save yourself first.
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister nodded silently, admiring the king's strategic contempt for the enemy but his tactical caution, which was truly a blessing for Stobi.
After all, the commander of the opposing fleet was the famous Themistocles.
When fighting him, it is crucial to consider the difficulties more and not to waste time.
Following the plan, more than 50 ironclad ships of Stobi quietly approached the Athenian warships on the periphery.
Then, at a command, more than fifty ships began to spew fire almost at the same time.
The Athenian fleet was caught off guard, and soon about 500 warships were set on fire.
On a starless night, it is difficult to tell the direction, and no one has dared to sail since ancient times.
What's more, the place where the Athenian fleet camped was definitely a dangerous place.
No one could have imagined that the joint fleet of the six nations would actually launch a sneak attack and successfully get close.
For a moment, the nearby Athenian fleet was stunned. They just watched the Stobi fleet finish firing and turn around easily.
Fortunately, Themistocles reacted quickly and personally ordered a thousand speedboats to rush over, which allowed them to barely catch up with the retreating Stobi fleet.
"As expected of Themistocles, his reaction is so quick. Fortunately, the king has foresighted everything, and our fleet has already turned the rudder! Now they want to catch up with us, but I'm afraid it's impossible!" The Prime Minister said convincedly.
The Prime Minister was surprised by Themistocles' quick reaction, and even more astonished by the King's ability to anticipate the enemy's moves.
As expected, the contest between the two military gods was not something a mortal like me could understand.
Fortunately, a stronger generation of military god is on our side.
"Can't catch up with us? I'm afraid not!" Xia Zhe said in his heart.
Hearing the Prime Minister's compliment, Xia Zhe did not feel proud, but rather felt quite nervous.
While their own ironclads were powerful, their speed was truly average. With so many fast ships chasing them, how could the Prime Minister be sure he could shake them all off?
"Send the signal. One mile ahead, turn left 30 degrees!"
Not noticing the change in the king's expression, the Prime Minister stared at the map and compass and issued an order.
Soon, the ship began to turn.
Xia Zhe, who was standing nervously in the command room, could also feel the deviation and shaking.
Next, the Stoby fleet entered a blackout again.
There was no light on the sea except the lights of the pursuing fleet behind.
"Look! They took the wrong road!" said the Prime Minister excitedly.
Upon hearing this, there was a burst of laughter in the command room, which was the joy from the bottom of the hearts of the sailors.
Xia Zhe subconsciously looked back and saw that the vanguard of the Athenian warships in pursuit did not turn and was still rushing forward.
Then, there were sounds of "clang..., creak..." as some ships struck reefs. The lights on the ships began to flicker, and the screams and cries of the crew were carried on the wind.
After a long struggle, the Athenian fleet finally turned in the correct direction and continued to pursue.
But the distance between them and the Stoby fleet has widened again.
Moreover, the number of chasing warships was obviously much smaller than at the beginning.
"Attention! Send out the signal again, turn right 45 degrees one nautical mile ahead!" The Prime Minister spoke again calmly.
At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the nautical chart and compass.
"Understood!"
The messenger answered loudly and ran away.
The fleet turned silently again and disappeared into the darkness.
Unsurprisingly, the pursuing Athenian clippers were unable to recover. Their forwards charged headfirst into the storm.
From a distance, the boats were rocking violently in the wind and waves. Even after the sails were quickly lowered, they still capsized.
Finally, the Athenian pursuit fleet was forced to stop and return home in disgrace.
From afar, they saw the long dragon of lights turning back and leaving. On the Stoby flagship, even more enthusiastic cheers erupted!
The surprise attack on the Athenian fleet was a great success!
Everyone was very happy and hugged each other.
It was the Prime Minister who first came to his senses and summed up the situation.
"Long live our king! In this battle tonight, our king has made great contributions!"
These two sentences reminded everyone, and everyone spontaneously ran to Xia Zhe, knelt down and saluted, shouting "Long live Xia Zhe".
I sincerely admire the king's strategic planning, which actually defeated the Athenian naval god and made him lose his temper!
Seeing this, Xia Zhe could only force a smile and wave to everyone.
Then, he hurriedly ordered the Prime Minister to leave quickly and not stay here, but to return to the headquarters of the Six-Nation Combined Fleet first.
The news of the pursuit fleet's failure was soon fed back to Themistocles.
Upon hearing that not a single enemy ship was destroyed but five hundred ships were lost for no reason, Themistocles was extremely angry.
In a night battle, the Athenian warships lost thousands of ships, which was even greater than the losses suffered during the day.
Is this enemy commander who doesn't play by the rules really Eurybiades or Hector?
Themistocles had come into contact with both of these men. He felt that they were at best good generals, but still far behind himself.
What is even more strange is that with reefs and storms to the south, how could the enemy come and go so easily?
Could it be that they actually lost a lot of ships, but they just couldn't see them at night?
Themistocles secretly decided that he must go to the southern waterway to check as soon as the sun rose.
Look at how many ships the enemy lost there.
Only in this way can we provide accurate judgment for subsequent battles and ultimately defeat this joint fleet with a peculiar fighting style.
After dawn.
Themistocles quickly brought his fleet to the southern waterway to investigate.
After carefully counting the wreckage of the damaged ship, he was shocked beyond words.
No!
Not a single one!
There wasn't a single enemy ship damaged!
All the ships damaged on both sides of the southern waterway were the Athenian Navy’s own ships!
Stoby's strange fleet.
On a starless night, they attacked from here, then completely passed through here and returned to their base camp. Not a single ship was misplaced!
If Themistocles had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it.
Suddenly, an absurd legend emerged in Themistocles' mind.
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