The generals present all agreed with Zhao Min's words. After all, they had all been defeated by Zhao Min. Moreover, the destruction of Zhu Yuanzhang's Wei Dynasty was Zhao Min's first achievement.
No matter in terms of cultivation or military strategy, the generals present were no match for Zhao Min.
Then, Zhang Wuji winked at Gong Yu again.
Gong Yu understood what he meant. He quickly walked to Zhang Wuji and said, "My dear generals, I have not done any meritorious service to Your Majesty, but I think I am competent in naval battles."
"I'm going to say something I don't want to mention. After all, I used to be close to Chen Youliang, so I know more about naval battles than you do."
"In this expedition against the Japanese, I will be the vanguard commander, that is, the commander of the navy. The decisive battle with the Japanese navy at sea will be commanded by me. There are some things that must be made clear before the war, and it is at this moment. Let me ask you, I am the commander of the navy, leading you to fight the first battle, are you dissatisfied?"
…
At this point, no one would be dissatisfied. Besides, Gong Yu has spent several years in Dahukou to prove himself, and the conclusion of that proof is that Gong Yu still has certain talents. Although no one has ever fought a water battle, this only proves that Gong Yu is better than all of them.
Zhang Dingbian was an old acquaintance of Gong Yu. This was the case in his early years when he served under Chen Youliang.
Although this friendship is not very high, it is extremely precious at this time.
Therefore, Zhang Dingbian spoke first and said, "Your Majesty, we are sincerely convinced that you are the commander-in-chief of the navy."
"Under your command, we will surely achieve victory."
Gong Yu smiled slightly: "Just obey me, the war is imminent and we cannot afford any mistakes. Since you obey me today, you must obey my orders when the war begins. You must execute every one of my flag signals without hesitation. On the vast ocean, only victory can win us a way to survive. Once we lose the war, none of us will have a way to escape."
"Therefore, I, Gong Yu, will never allow any failure to occur."
"If it really comes to that critical moment, even if I ask one of you to lead your own fleet to die, you must not have any hesitation. Hundreds of large ships are fighting together. As long as we can achieve a great victory overall, it would be worth it even if someone or a few ships are sacrificed."
Yang Xiao took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, this war is a national war. Although most of us come from the grassroots of the Ming Cult, we have already developed our own beliefs over the years."
"People like us don't say those high-sounding words. If I, Yang Xiao, had not met Your Majesty in this life, I would be at most a wandering knight in the world."
"I have been appreciated by Your Majesty and have even commanded tens of thousands of troops. Life is like this, and I, Yang Xiao, have no regrets. When the critical moment comes, as long as Your Majesty gives a signal, I, Yang Xiao, will not hesitate even if I am torn to pieces."
After Yang Xiao said this, the other generals present also made their own guarantees.
Then, Gong Yu turned her gaze to Zhang Wuji.
"Your Majesty, the generals and I have said everything we wanted to say. Next, I would like to let you know what the generals and I have done in the past few years."
Under the guidance of Gong Yu, Zhang Wuji and a group of generals came to a huge sand table. The sand table was two meters wide and three meters long. Not only were there water routes drawn on it, but also the territorial maps of the Ming Dynasty and Japan were carved out of marble.
After seeing this scene, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min were really shocked.
After a long while, Zhang Wuji finally said, "Yu'er, just this sand table must have taken a lot of your effort, right?"
Gong Yu smiled slightly, but was not modest: "Indeed, this sand table alone cost hundreds of taels of silver to build. As for the shipping routes and the territorial maps of Ming Dynasty and Japan, they cannot be measured by money."
"The routes and territorial maps above are all what I have figured out bit by bit over the past few years. Every time I figured it out, a small fleet would go deep into the enemy's territory alone. After all, this is our first expedition, and the navy has traveled such a long distance. Every corner and every route on this sand table are the result of countless efforts of the soldiers."
"All of this is just to win the first battle in the war, and a big victory at that."
At this moment, Zhang Wuji was naturally very relieved, but Zhao Min had a deeper understanding of Gong Yu. A woman like this, with such scheming, was fortunately just a plaything when she was with Chen Youliang. If Chen Youliang could use her, the consequences would be unimaginable. At the very least, the disastrous defeat in Poyang Lake would not have happened.
…
Since this sand table was carved directly from marble, Gong Yu walked up to it with a wooden stick and said, "Your Majesty, look, this is the route we will take soon."
As he spoke, Gong Yu gestured with the wooden stick.
"This route starts from Dahukou and then goes straight to Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan's mainland. There is a flat area for dozens of miles, and then there are several mountains, which are suitable for the assembly of large armies and can also lock the throat of traffic."
Zhang Wuji looked at the location of Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan and said, "Yu'er, this Yamaguchi Prefecture you mentioned has a large piece of Japanese territory to the south. If we land here, will we be attacked from both sides?"
Gong Yu smiled and said, "No, although there is a large piece of Japanese territory to the south of Yamaguchi Prefecture, there are not many troops stationed there."
"According to the combat strength of my Ming Dynasty soldiers, there are no more than 20,000 of them. If we add a good general, we can block the passage to the south, and then we can push all the way north. As long as we can capture a few important cities and have a little bit of depth, then with Sister Min'er's ability, we can definitely reach Tokyo, Japan within a year."
After hearing this, Zhao Min also walked to the marble beach volleyball court. She first measured it with her hand and said, "Ms. Gong, how far is Yamaguchi Prefecture from the capital of Japan?"
Gong Yu said: "It's less than two thousand miles, but it's at least eighteen or nineteen hundred miles."
Zhao Min thought for a moment: "The landing location you chose is okay. If we choose to land directly near Tokyo, we will inevitably be counterattacked by the Japanese. By then, it will take a long time for our army to assemble in Japan. It is crucial to choose a safer landing point."
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