brush!
Upon hearing this news, the naval officers in the hall immediately stood up in alarm.
Only Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, who was looking at the nautical chart, immediately marked the coordinates of the Longcheng naval fleet on the chart.
Then, he flicked his finger toward the coastline, and a plan immediately formed in his mind.
On the other side of the coastline lies the coastal region of Shandong, separated from the Goguryeo Peninsula by only a sea.
In this area, several groups of pirates, composed of Japanese samurai, ronin, and merchants, frequently raided the coastal people of Shandong, committing arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities.
It's obvious without a doubt that the unidentified ships appearing on the southward route of the Longcheng naval fleet were most likely pirates or bandits.
At this moment, Qi Jiguang, the naval admiral, immediately asked the messenger, "Are the ships that have appeared in the waters of my Longcheng naval fleet fishing at sea?"
The messenger replied, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the two fleets are far apart, and we cannot yet confirm the identities of the other ships!"
"General Qi, there's no need to confirm!"
Chen Huai'an tossed his calligraphy brush onto the nautical chart and said with a smile, "Anything that can attract the attention of the naval fleet's officers and soldiers is definitely not an ordinary fishing boat;"
"If I'm not mistaken, they must be Japanese pirates!"
pirate?
Upon hearing this word, the expressions of all the naval commanders present froze, and their expressions became visibly tense.
Chen Huai'an continued, "Gentlemen, there's no need to linger here. Come with me to the deck and take a look. We'll know whether they are Japanese pirates or not once we verify!"
After saying that, Chen Huai'an was the first to walk out of the cabin.
Seeing this, Qi Jiguang hesitated for a moment and then followed.
The other naval officers also rose and followed Prince Jin and the naval admiral, leaving their cabins and heading to the deck.
at the same time.
On the large ship at the bow of this fleet that appeared in the Yellow Sea, a Japanese pirate with a mustache also spotted the Longcheng naval fleet sailing from north to south.
Just as Chen Huai'an had predicted, this fleet of more than thirty ships was one of several Japanese pirate groups active in the waters off the Goguryeo Peninsula and the Shandong coast.
The leader, a Japanese pirate with a mustache, was named Sakai Takaaki, a low-level fishmonger from Osaka.
This man was naturally brave and ruthless. Seeing that fishing at sea was hard work and didn't earn him much money, he simply gathered a group of fishermen from his village and started doing pirate business.
Originally, these Japanese pirates were only engaged in small-scale activities in the coastal areas.
However, after the ambitious and ambitious Emperor Zhao Gan of the second dynasty personally led an expedition and transferred away the 200,000 Japanese pirates who had been stationed along the Shandong coast for many years, these Japanese pirates became increasingly daring.
They were no longer content with looting coastal villages; instead, they planned to take advantage of the internal strife within the Great Xin Dynasty to extend their evil clutches to the coastal counties and cities.
After all, there are far more wealthy people in county towns than in small coastal fishing villages, and far more gold, silver, grain, and women for these Japanese pirates to plunder.
Today is the day this group of Japanese pirates prepares to land and plunder the coastal city of Jiaozhou.
Therefore, Sakai Takaaki, the pirate leader, gathered more than 5,000 Japanese pirates, sailed more than 30 ships, and carried a large number of weapons and arrows, all in order to take Jiaozhou City in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, Sakai Takaaki must have forgotten to check the almanac before setting out, as he ran into the Ryūjō naval fleet heading south, which was equipped with cannons and was capable of overwhelming other navies and pirates of the time.
"Chief, ahead! An unidentified fleet has been spotted!"
At this moment, a low-ranking Japanese pirate leader approached his leader, Sakai Takaaki, and said in a panic, "Leader, could this be the navy fleet of the Great Xin Dynasty?"
"Their warships look much larger than ours!"
"Baka yarou!"
Sakai Takaaki cursed irritably, then continued, "This leader isn't blind; I can see for myself!"
Hello!
The Japanese pirate leader who had been scolded had no temper at all and had to bow and scrape respectfully in front of his leader, Sakai Takaaki.
"Report—"
"Sir, the captains of all the ships are signaling with flags, asking what to do if they encounter an unidentified fleet?"
At this moment, the Japanese pirate henchman responsible for relaying the information also hurriedly reported the intelligence that the flag bearer had just received to the fleet leader, Sakai Takaaki.
Baka!
Sakai Takaaki spat out angrily and roared impatiently, "What's the rush? Let them all wait and see. I'll decide how to handle this!"
Hello!
The messenger hurriedly left again, finding the flag bearer on the ship to relay the leader's orders to the other ships.
Sakai Takaaki squinted, watching the approaching Ryujo naval fleet, a greedy glint in his lewd eyes.
In particular, when Sakai Takaaki saw the super warship "Destroy the Japanese" that Chen Huai'an was riding on, he couldn't take his eyes off it.
Looking at the massive hull of the "Destroy the Japanese" ship, the conspicuous four-clawed yellow dragon flag fluttering on it, and the majestic wooden dragon head on the bow that was both imposing and oppressive;
Sakai Takaaki couldn't help but smack his lips and said, "One day, this chief will definitely do everything in his power to get his hands on this treasure ship!"
Of course, the soldiers clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons, already faintly visible on the deck of the treasure ship, also came into Sakai Takaaki's view.
Even as he coveted the treasure ship and wanted to seize it for himself, he had to consider his own strength and whether he had the teeth to swallow such a massive fleet!
On the other side.
Standing on the deck of the warship "Destroy the Japanese Pirates", Chen Huai'an could almost confirm with the naked eye that the unidentified fleet in front of him was a pirate.
However, with the attitude of catching thieves red-handed, he still ordered the naval officers and soldiers to send small boats to board the ship for inspection.
Chen Huai'an instructed, "General Qi, convey my order to send out small boats to identify themselves, board the ships, and inspect them. All other warships should surround the ships to prevent the Japanese pirates from escaping!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Soon, upon receiving the order, the officers and soldiers of the Longcheng Navy launched small boats from the "Destroy the Japanese" warship, and a team of fully armed naval officers and soldiers quickly boarded the boats and rowed rapidly toward the unidentified fleet ahead.
At the same time, the remaining warships of the Longcheng naval fleet also began to line up in battle formation and accelerate towards the fleet ahead.
"Chief, something terrible has happened!"
"The fleet ahead has launched small boats; it looks like they're preparing to board and inspect the ships. What should we do, sir?"
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