As soon as the two red-haired ghosts left, Ma Xianglan quickly took out a silk handkerchief to wipe Zhao Hao's hands, and wiped the back of his hands several times, and then threw the handkerchief directly into the sea to feed the fish... The handkerchief made of pure natural silk, after soaking in sea water, can really be eaten.

Ma Yinglong also whispered from the side: "Sir, don't you dislike this Qiezhidan religion?"

"Not only Qiezhidan, I also dislike monotheism." Young Master Zhao smiled faintly, looked at the sky at a 45-degree angle and said: "Only science is the unchanging belief of this young master throughout his life."

"Then why do you want to be the Far East patron of the Chiechin sect?" Wang Rulong asked.

"Because we are not as strong as others, we are no match for the Malacca Fleet, let alone the Spanish Fleet. But if we really want to make money, we have to trade with the Portuguese and Spanish." He looked at the two of them earnestly and said, "Before we can drive Portugal and Spain out of Asia with our fleet, we have to pretend to be friendly with the church and let them act as a lubricant between us and the red-haired devils."

"Lubricant?" The two of them didn't quite understand this word.

"It's just that the relationship between the two sides was originally very awkward, which easily caused friction. Let them lubricate it, and it will be smooth and silky." Young Master Zhao explained, and then ordered the two of them in a serious tone: "But remember, you must stay vigilant and don't let others brainwash you!"

"Yes!" The two of them quickly responded. This was obviously within Ma Yinglong's scope of business. He quickly asked, "Is preaching prohibited in the police force?"

"That's right. All police officers are not allowed to believe or spread such rumors. Once discovered, they will be severely punished!" Zhao Hao left no room for discussion. "If missionaries question you in the future, just ask them, do you listen to the Lord or the Master? If they dare to talk nonsense again, just kick them out."

"Yes!" Soldiers like clear instructions the most, and police officers are no exception.

"But I can't be so rude and crude elsewhere. Otherwise, no matter how dumb they are, they will know that I am playing tricks on them." Zhao Hao stroked his chin and thought, "It's not so bad in China. You say I am just the son of a county magistrate. Who can I protect? Who will listen to me?"

"Haha..." Erlong only dared to laugh and did not dare to agree.

"The only problem now is Jeju Island. If they want to go there to preach, I can't stop them." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "But fortunately Fatty Tang is there, let him worry about it. Anyway, it will take a few years. When our new battleships are built, they will all rush back to Europe!"

Secretary Ma quickly made note of the matter so that he could remind the young master to tell Tang Youde about it later, otherwise he would definitely forget it.

"That's about it..." Mr. Zhao thought about it and felt that this was the only way to go, so he straightened his clothes and said, "Let's go to the meeting!"

~~

"stand up!"

At the command given by the duty officer, all the police officers in the conference room stood still.

"At ease." Young Master Zhao, accompanied by Wang Rulong and Ma Yinglong, walked quickly to the front of the stage.

There was a loud clattering sound, and everyone took a break.

"I declare that the strategic objectives of the second phase of this punitive operation have been fully achieved, and the 'Dog Beating Operation' has ended successfully!" After Master Zhao finished speaking, he led the applause, and the other police officers quickly followed suit.

When the applause died down, Zhao Hao continued in a deep voice: "Next, we will proceed to the final stage of the battle. The strategic goal is simple - to destroy the main forces of the Maori Navy and the Murakami Navy, and completely control the Kanmon Strait!"

As he spoke, he looked around at the people who were ready to fight, and said in a deep voice: "I will name this operation 'Operation Li Huamei'!"

"Yes!" The police officers responded in high-pitched voices, obviously pleased with the young master's behavior of naming the combat operation after a girl's name.

Sister Ma felt a little panicked. She didn't know where this good sister Li Huamei came from?

The young master is indeed from the Zhao family, and it is hard to guard against him...

Alas, when I was still young, I looked forward to growing up. But now that I have grown up, it seems that it is not good either.

~~

Then it was Ma Yinglong's turn to summarize the intelligence.

"Don't let your previous victories make you complacent. This time, the enemy we face will be stronger than ever. In terms of military strength alone, the Mori navy can deploy more than 400 warships. Among the Murakami navy, the Nojima family has more than 300 ships, the Raishima family has more than 200 ships, and the Yinshima family has more than 200 ships. So our enemy can gather more than 1,000 warships and more than 20,000 naval forces at most!"

The police officers couldn't help but look serious. Their firepower was not enough to resist so many enemy ships at the same time, and they would definitely encounter a boarding battle!

"Besides, the Kanmon Strait is not friendly to us." Ma Yinglong pointed to the map on the wall and said, "It is located between Shimonoseki in Honshu and Mojiko in Kyushu. It is the western gateway to the Seto Inland Sea and a strategic point on the Japanese sea route. Its central waterway is 15-20 meters deep, and the narrowest sea area is only about 600 meters wide. And according to the Tang people, the ocean currents in the Kanmon Strait are very fast, which is not suitable for our battle line tactics..."

The officers took notes while listening, and the relaxed look on their faces completely disappeared. Such a narrow V-shaped strait was too unfriendly to their bulky sailing ships. Not to mention fighting, even sailing was a nervous experience.

"In addition, the combat level of the Mishima navy is also top-notch in Japan. They are particularly good at the two tactics of 'baking fire arrows' and 'butterfly formation'." Ma Yinglong said, and asked someone to bring a watermelon-sized pottery jar tied with a long hemp rope, and explained to everyone: "In fact, this thing is the 'iron branding awl' that we used against the Japanese pirates when we were in the Qi family army. I didn't expect that the Japanese would learn it back."

In fact, the Japanese did not learn this from Qi's army, but it was introduced to Japan during the Song Dynasty. The so-called "bailao" is actually a Japanese-style ceramic medicine pot, which the Japanese used to replace the porcelain caltrops that should have been specially fired. The bailao is filled with gunpowder and various flammable materials. After the fuse is lit, it is swung and thrown out. The strong can throw it 50 meters away.

Most of the police officers present were from the Qi Family Army, so they were not unfamiliar with it. They knew that this thing was different from the Thunder God Rocket, which was used for arson. Its main function was to kill with fragments and explosions, but it had little burning effect. However, the Dafu ship was not made of oak, so if it was hit by dozens or hundreds of bullets, it would probably burn.

"'Butterfly Formation' is the tactic that the Murakami navy excels at. They don't have bulky Ataka ships, and they don't even have many Kan ships. They rely mainly on the light Kohaya, which is more maneuverable than the enemy's ships. They disperse and approach the enemy like butterflies, and then suddenly surround them. They use several or even dozens of ships to besiege one enemy ship, and use the above-mentioned roasting fire arrows to cause a devastating blow to the enemy ship."

Ma Yinglong said in a deep voice: "These two things are exactly the magic weapons that the Murakami Navy relies on to dominate the Seto Sea. I think we will all get to taste them this time."

After the intelligence was summarized, Wang Rulong began to arrange a specific battle plan.

"In this battle, we should concentrate our forces to prevent the enemy from gathering forces, actively seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy, divide them and attack them, and defeat them one by one!" He was still as concise as ever, and every word was as sharp as a knife: "So the young master has ordered Otomo Munerin to spread the news that he will escort Ouchi Teruhiro back to the Minister of Defense. I believe that the Mori Navy will not remain indifferent..."

~~

Ten days later, at Akihoura, Yoshishiki County, Suo Province.

There is a lookout every few miles along the seashore, with a barracks under it. Each barracks is garrisoned by a samurai guarding the barracks and 500 foot soldiers. Once the enemy is spotted, the lookout will immediately release a signal smoke signal, and nearby barracks will come to the rescue and join forces to prevent the enemy from landing.

This is the heartland of the Mori family, but it is across the sea from the territory of the Ouchi family. Naturally, the Mori family has to guard it heavily to prevent harassment from the Bungo navy.

There was also a water fort in Akihoura, where the elite of the Mori navy, the Shirai clan's Yashirojima navy, was stationed.

In fact, the Yashirojima navy was originally patrolling the Kanmon Strait to protect the supply line and retreat route of the Mori Kyushu expeditionary army. But seven days ago, the lord Kobayakawa Takakage, who was at the front line of Tachibana Castle, sent a secret order saying that Otomo Sorin was going to send the navy to escort Ouchi Teruhiro back to Suo. The Yashirojima navy was ordered to return to Akihoura as soon as possible to prevent Ouchi Teruhiro from landing.

Upon receiving the secret order, Shirai family head Kentsugu was horrified. He was originally a retainer of Ouchi, but later followed Sue Harukata to overthrow his superior and murdered Ouchi Yoshitaka. Therefore, if Ouchi Teruhiro came back, the first person he would not spare would be the Shirai family.

He quickly mobilized all the warships and returned to Akihoura to prepare for battle. After waiting for three days without any movement, Xianyin was discussing with his retainers whether Ouchi Teruhiro dared not come, or was the Ming Dynasty fleet directly destroyed in Oita Bay?

At this moment, a warrior suddenly ran in to report that the wolf smoke had risen!

"What?" Xianyin, who was wantonly belittling Huihong, suddenly stood up and asked, "Which section of the signal fire?"

“That’s where we are!”

"Baga!" Xian Yin quickly rushed to the bow, put his hands on the awning and looked at the sea. Sure enough, he saw dozens of Guan ships slowly approaching from the direction of Kyushu.

"Leave the village to meet the enemy!"

Amid the rumbling sound of drums, the sailors who were already on standby on the boat quickly took their positions, shouted slogans and rowed together, and sailed out of the water fort at the fastest speed.

By the time Xianyin's Anzhai ship slowly got into position, the Guan ships had already approached within two miles.

"Huh?" Xian Yin, who was about to order an attack, was suddenly stunned. He found that behind those Guan ships, there were dozens of large Chinese sailing ships!

Xian Yin had not noticed it just now because the distance was far and the sailboats had not raised their sails. At this time, the Chinese sailboats had raised their distinctive sails, so they were clearly visible.

"Master, this must be the legendary Ming Dynasty fleet!" Xianyin's retainer cried out, "Otomo Sorin, that old fox, actually spread false news to paralyze us!"

Lao Wang who was far away in Oita sneezed. No, it’s not me, I didn’t!

It's useless to say all this now. If we turn around and retreat now, won't we become a laughing stock? Will we disappoint our dear Lord Kobayakawa?

What's more, Xian Yin, who had inherited the stubbornness from his Japanese ancestors, didn't quite believe that the Ming Dynasty fleet was as evil as the legend said.

He gritted his teeth, drew out his small sword, pointed it forward fiercely and said, "Give me the rabbit!"

p.s. I will continue writing for a while, but I probably won’t be able to finish a chapter. I’ll post it tomorrow morning.