When the joint fleet of Portugal and its allies, formed in two columns, slowly sailed out of the port of Macau, the scattered Chinese fishing boats in the Lingdingyang Ocean all avoided them.

On an inconspicuous sloop, several men dressed as fishermen were rowing slowly eastward. On the deck, two other men covered in fishing nets were lying, one of them looking through a high-powered telescope in front of him, inspecting the Portuguese ship and reporting his observation results.

"…The fifth caravel, about 30 meters long, with three masts and triangular sails, no guns on the bow, two snake guns on the stern, and six gun ports on the left side. The type of guns is unknown. The right side of the ship cannot be observed."

"The sixth caravel, about thirty meters long..."

The other is the recorder, who is responsible for quickly recording the observation results using special marks.

The final reconnaissance results showed that the Portuguese fleet, flying the white flag with a red shield and a crown, consisted of four large sailing ships, eight three-masted caravels, twenty old lock ships ranging from three to five masts, and about 500 artillery pieces.

The armed fleet flying the Five-Ram Flag consisted of ten medium-sized Wuwei ships, twenty thousand-ton large Guang ships, and about 300 artillery pieces.

There were also forty armed sailing ships without any flags and about 200 guns.

Afterwards, fleets from all over the Lingdingyang joined from time to time. Because the lineup was too large, it was impossible to count their models and gun numbers. In the end, it was only confirmed that more than 300 large and small ships of various types, including Guangchuan, Fuchuan, Wuweichuan, etc., joined the ranks of the combined fleet.

"Wow, there are more than 400 ships in total, which means there must be at least 50,000 people, right?" The investigator kept observing until dusk, when the Lingdingyang Ocean returned to calm. He then put down the telescope and rubbed his blurry eyes.

"What's the fuss? When Zeng Yiben attacked Chaozhou Prefecture, didn't he also gather more than 300 ships and 50,000 people?" The recorder at the side wrote the information in cipher code on a small piece of paper and handed it to the investigator.

"There's no comparison. A single Portuguese sailing ship can take on dozens of pirate ships." The investigator took it and checked it carefully. Seeing that it was correct, he carefully rolled the paper into a twist.

The recorder took out a thin red bamboo tube from a small copper box and handed it to the investigator, asking him to put the intelligence in it. He then took out a piece of sealing wax from the copper box, blew out a fire with a tinder, and carefully melted the sealing wax. When it melted into a thick state, he dripped it into the mouth of the bamboo tube. Then he blew it a few times and stamped it before it solidified. After the sealing wax cooled, a beautiful sun and moon pattern was clearly imprinted.

The recorder took out a pigeon cage from the cabin, took out a carrier pigeon, tied a bamboo tube to the pigeon's claws and released it. The pigeon circled twice in the air and then flew straight to the northeast.

To be on the safe side, the reconnaissance ship released two other carrier pigeons at different times and in different directions to ensure that this important information could be delivered to Nan'ao Island in a timely manner.

~~

The Portuguese joint fleet sailed out of the Lingdingyang in a mighty manner, forming a huge formation on the sea that was twenty miles long and ten miles wide.

It's actually just a swarm.

Apart from the Portuguese and Lin Hongzhong's fleets, how could the pirate fleets be arranged in any formation? It was good enough if they didn't fall behind.

And where did these pirates come from? Were they bought by the Jiangnan Group? No one could say for sure.

Domingo, the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet, was also very aware of this and had long ago ordered all pirate fleets not to approach within five miles of his and Lin Hongzhong's main fleet. Otherwise, they would be considered to have ill intentions and would be sunk!

After noon the next day, the fleet finally sailed out of the Wanshan Islands, where the sea conditions were complicated, and there was a vast ocean in front of them.

Domingo was about to give the order to speed up, but he heard the lookout on the mast report loudly that a fleet was approaching rapidly from the northeast, with as many as fifty large ships!

"Everyone on alert!" Domingo quickly gave the order loudly, and the alarm bells rang on his flagship, the Duke of Goa.

The other two caravels, the Regaleira and the Pena, also sounded the alarm. The mast of the Oriental Beauty was two meters shorter, so the lookouts naturally discovered the enemy later.

The Portuguese warships were in a panic and struggled to form a formation to meet the enemy - the old sluice ships blocked the front of the large sailing ships to prevent the Ming people from attacking with fire, which was their best skill, and the caravel sailing ships cruised on both wings to maintain maneuverability.

However, the pirate fleet ahead soon sent news that it was not the Jiangnan Fleet that was coming, but Lin Daoquan's fleet.

"Lin Daoqian?" Domingo glanced at Lin Hongzhong and said, "Jeffrey, it seems you have visited him."

"Yes, I tried to win him over as the Governor-General's special envoy, but he was very hesitant." Lin Hongzhong nodded and said, "Later, I heard that he fought a battle with the Jiangnan Fleet heading south, and retreated back to Xiawei after being defeated. He kept asking me for help, but I ignored him. Later, news came out that the Guangdong Governor ordered him to move to Tuen Mun Island."

"Could it be that he is heading to Tuen Mun?"

"Eighty percent." Lin Hongzhong nodded. "The timing is just right."

Half an hour later, Lin Zhiling, the third in command of Lin Daoquan, as his messenger, boarded the Duke of Goa in a small boat.

Lin Hongzhong inquired and learned that they were indeed heading towards Tuen Mun.

After listening to Lin Hongzhong's translation, Domingo said anxiously: "No, no, no, he can't get involved in Tuen Mun. I plan to destroy the Jiangnan Fleet in Nan'ao Island and occupy Tuen Mun when I come back."

He grinned and said, "Didn't the Guangdong government ask us to leave Macau? We will move to Tuen Mun!"

"Let's win the battle first." Lin Hongzhong said without comment. He would not agree to act recklessly. Macau and Tuen Mun were both connected to the mainland. No matter how powerful the Portuguese warships were, they could not stop the government troops from attacking from land. But it was too early to say these words.

But he was still worried that Lin Daoquan might have surrendered to Zhao Hao and would take advantage of the full force of his own troops to launch a surprise attack on their base in Macau.

Thinking of this, he said to Lin Zhiling, "We are just about to go and get back the face for your boss, how can he, the real boss, be absent? You should turn back quickly and join us in conquering Nan'ao Island."

"I have to go back and ask the boss." Lin Zhiling said with embarrassment: "We have elderly, weak, women and children on board. I'm afraid they can't help much."

This made Lin Hongzhong suspicious. He looked at his cousin Lin Huanong and said, "Go to see General Lin for me, explain the situation to him, and convince him to stand together with me."

After a pause, he smiled at Lin Zhiling and said, "A single tree does not make a forest. We are a family and we will never cheat you. It doesn't matter if you are old, weak, women and children. Just gather them on a few boats and stay far behind. They will not be affected."

"Oh, okay." Lin Zhiling had no choice but to agree and went with Lin Huanong reluctantly.

When it was dark, Lin Huanong returned to the Duke of Goa and told Lin Hongzhong that there were many women, children, and livestock on Lin Daoquan's ship. It really looked like they were moving, not going to war.

"Well, that's good." Lin Hongzhong was relieved and said, "Did he agree?"

"Yes, they have turned around." Lin Huanong nodded and said, "He is quite proactive. He said that he was forced to leave his homeland by the Jiangnan Fleet. If he doesn't take revenge now, when will he? But he asked to leave women and children in Xiawei City so that he can fight without worries."

"No problem." Lin Hongzhong had no doubts at all and smiled to Domingo, "Lin Daoqian is capable, but he was injured in several battles in Fujian before, so he was unable to deal with the Jiangnan Fleet. But he is still much stronger than those trash and can help us."

"By the way, Lin Daoquan also said that we can use Xiawei Port as a forward base so that we can get supplies in time." Lin Huanong said excitedly.

"What do you think, General?" Lin Hongzhong asked Domingo without comment.

"No." Domingo shook his head without hesitation and said, "I don't trust the Ming people. You are too cunning and unpredictable."

As he said this, he smiled apologetically at Lin Hongzhong: "Of course I'm not talking about you. You are the Lord's child."

"Well, actually I don't know much about him, so it's better to be careful." Lin Daoquan forced a smile and cursed inwardly, saying that the red-haired ghost believed in a master and thought he was a white lotus.

Bah, they are all ripe Chinese yam, why are you pretending to be hairless?

~~

There were indeed many women, children, cattle, sheep and other household items on Lin Daoquan's boat. Following Zhao Hao's instructions, he planned to move to Tuen Mun and join Lin Hongzhong.

He didn't expect the Portuguese fleet to come so quickly and he was really shocked when he encountered them halfway.

Fortunately, the General Staff Office had given him a plan, so Lin Daoqian quickly followed the plan and asked Lin Zhiling to go and inform him first. He also followed the advice of the accompanying Coast Guard General Staff and dealt with Lin Huanong who came to deliver a message and inquire about the truth.

After Lin Huanong returned, Lin Daoqian smiled and said to the young Coast Guard staff officer: "Officer Cai..."

"I'm not a police officer yet. Just call me Staff Officer Cai." The young staff officer, who was still standing straight in casual clothes, corrected.

This person is Cai Yilin, who graduated from the Tamra Maritime Police School this spring. Because of his excellent grades, he was able to enter the Police Academy for further studies without taking an entrance exam, and it has only been half a year.

However, this war was related to the fate of the group and the Coast Guard. The Tamra Garrison mobilized almost all its forces to support the war in the south, and the students of the Tamra Coast Guard School naturally had a responsibility. Cai Yilin also went south with his classmates as a reserve police officer to support the war.

Because he studied the major of staff officer in the police academy, he was assigned to the staff department. When the superiors selected the staff officer for Lin Daoqian, they considered that the older ones would cause Lin to resist and think that he was not trusted. So they sent the youngest but very mature Cai Yilin.

Lin Daoqian naturally understood that the General Staff Office sent a young boy to be a staff officer as a gesture of friendship. He was also very grateful and was always polite to Cai Yilin.

"Okay, Staff Officer Cai, do you think they will agree to go to Xiawei?" Lin Daoqian touched his nose and said with a smile, "If they go, then this battle will be easy. We can just make dumplings in Xiawei Harbor!"

"Maybe I will go, maybe I won't. The possibility of not going is higher." Cai Yilin said calmly: "No matter which possibility it is, there is a plan. There is no need to guess."

"Haha, that's right, the General Staff Office has made every possible plan!" Lin Daoqian laughed dryly and curled his lips secretly, saying that they knew what they were talking about. They made a fierce battle so boring...

ps. I spent the whole day today to come up with the whole process of this war, so I have only written one chapter so far. I will write another chapter, still the same, don't wait...