Zhao Ming and a group of generals hurriedly left the camp, and saw eight warships moored in the bay, most of which were damaged, and obviously experienced a fierce battle.This made everyone's hearts tremble, because they knew that the Combined Fleet, which had fifteen warships, now had only eight left, and it was a great defeat.At this time, Zheng Chenggong had already led everyone off the boat, and when he saw Zhao Ming coming over, he hurriedly stepped forward."
Regent!"
Zheng Chenggong clenched his fists and bowed his head, his face ashamed.Zhao Ming held his arm and asked with a trembling heart, "This is?"
”Zheng Chenggong said: "The minister led the fleet and sailed in the direction of Yangon, and when he encountered the Zhou convoy, he stepped forward to intercept it, and there was a fierce battle with its escort fleet.Although he sank one enemy ship and captured the enemy's flagship, the fleet also suffered heavy losses, the Yangwei was sunk, and several other ships were so badly wounded that they had to return to the Malacca shipyard. ”Zhao Ming listened to Zheng Chenggong's words, and his heart was relieved, and everyone was relieved.Shocked to death, I thought that the fleet was defeated, and half of the battleships sank in one fell sink.If that is the case, it can be called an unprecedented defeat of the Ming Navy.However, while breathing a sigh of relief, Zhao Ming saw eight warships in the distance, saw that the ships were somewhat damaged, and heard that the enemy army only lost two, so he knew that the enemy's sea strength was strong, and he knew that the goal of blockading Yangon might be difficult to achieve in a short time.Having said that, Zhao Ming still asked: "Success, with the existing ships, can the naval blockade of Yangon be completed?"
”Zheng Chenggong shook his head, "Regent, the strength of the enemy fleet has exceeded our previous expectations.The Yingyi, Fayi, and Dutch all joined the Donghu side.Except for the Dutch, whose ships were more brittle, the ships of the British and Fayi were mostly stronger than ours.In the course of the engagement, he found that the fleet used solid bullets to smash the side of the enemy ship when firing from a distance of one mile. ”Zhao Ming said in a deep voice: "That should be Yingyi's oak battleship." ”Zhao Ming really can't help this, Britain and France have colonies in the Americas, and there are large areas of oak that can be used for shipbuilding.Zhao Ming didn't expect that the Ming fleet would meet this kind of warship in the Indian Ocean.Zheng Chenggong was a little surprised, since Zhao Ming knew about this kind of warship, "The Yingyi flagship captured by the minister is this kind of ship, which was originally called an oak warship!"
”Zhao Ming heard this, "Go and see your results!"
”At that moment, Zhao Ming and his entourage, under the leadership of Zheng Chenggong, boarded the Yingyi flagship.At this time, everyone looked at the ship, and from the outside, it was similar to the warship of the Ming Dynasty, but everyone checked on the side of the ship, but found that there were marks and cracks on the side of the ship, but there was no large area of smashing.This is supposed to be the mark caused by the attack of solid shells and open fire shells, and it can be seen that there are many bullets, but the hull is very damaged.Zhao Ming stood on the side of a smashed ship and looked at the hard oak, as if the railroad tracks in later generations were also made of this wood as sleepers.At this time, Zhang Jiayu and the others also saw the problem, and said in a deep voice: "This kind of wood is so hard that it is difficult for naval guns to smash, so the enemy will have a huge advantage in naval battles."
We have a lot of resources, is there no such wood?
”Oak warships and ordinary warships, when encountering at sea, one can break the defense with one shot, and the other needs several shots to break through the opponent's armor, and the advantage of Xiyi is quite obvious.Zheng Chenggong was able to defeat the Xiyi Combined Fleet under such circumstances and capture an oak warship, which made Zhao Ming feel a little surprised.Zhao Ming said in a deep voice: "This kind of wood is produced in Dongzhou, whether we have it in the Ming Dynasty, the widow does not know."
However, the widow has already ordered the Ministry of Engineering to study a stronger ironclad ship. ”The group, after inspecting the captured oak warship, disembarked and headed for the camp.In the big tent, Zhao Ming sat down in the handsome position, and the generals sat down on both sides.The strategic goals on land and at sea have not been achieved, and the tent has become silent.After Zhao Ming was silent for a moment, he admitted the current situation in front of him and said: "Now it seems that the strategy of quick resolution has gone bankrupt, and everyone must be prepared to fight in Donghu for a long time." ”When everyone heard this, their expressions became solemn, Donghu This place, the climate is humid and hot, if you stay here for a long time, it can be said to be extremely unfavorable for the Ming army.Zhao Ming glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "With the current situation, what do you think and what strategies do you have?"
”Zheng Chenggong said: "Regent, if you need a navy to continue to complete the previous strategy, then the minister needs two conditions. ”Zhao Ming said in a deep voice: "Success, you say!"
”"First, the Combined Fleet needs to establish at least one military port in the Indian Ocean for replenishment and repair of warships!"
Zheng Chenggong said.Zhao Ming bowed slightly, the combined fleet is fighting in the Indian Ocean, and it really needs a stronghold, otherwise the ships will be damaged and cannot be repaired nearby, and they need to bypass Malacca and return to the south, which will naturally not consume the Xiyi fleet.If it can't be resolved quickly, then it should be compared with national strength and organizational ability, and Zhao Ming is still very confident in this.With the quality of the Ming army and the people, and hard-working, it is definitely stronger than Ah San under the rule of Wu Sangui.So, let's compare the capacity of infrastructure.Zhao Ming instructed Zhang Jiayu: "Give Nanjing a decree, transfer 5,000 craftsmen from Longjiang Shipyard, Jiangnan Shipyard, and Fuzhou Shipyard, and then recruit 20,000 people from Siam, Annam, and Chenla to establish a military port and shipyard in Mawlamyine." ”"Whoa!"
Zhang Jiayu saluted and received the order.Zheng Chenggong then continued: "Secondly, the combined fleet needs to replenish the warships, at least twenty, in order to have a numerical advantage. ”For the Yingyi's strong ships and cannons, the Ming Dynasty was either able to build stronger warships or armor-piercing conical cannonballs.At present, the ironclad ship is still being studied, and the artillery that fires conical shells has not yet begun to be studied, so it can only use the advantage of numbers to offset the disadvantage of the ship.Zhao Ming said in a deep voice: "Okay!
The widow asked the North Sea and East China Sea fleets to transfer twenty gunboats over. ”Zheng Chenggong said: "If there is a military port to repair the warships, and twenty gunboats come to support, the minister is confident that he will force the Xiyi fleet out of the waters of Rangoon." ”Zhao Ming listened to Zheng Chenggong's statement, if the combined fleet could control the sea power, then it might be able to force Wu Sangui to take the initiative to come to the decisive battle.Thinking of this, Zhao Ming's eyes narrowed, and he continued: "Order Li Dingguo, as well as Xia Wanchun, to recruit and transfer people, and speed up the construction of the official road in Yunnan and Burma. ”If the sea transport supplies are affected, and the Ming army builds the road to the north, then the Zhou army in Yangon will be in trouble.Once the Yunnan-Burma Highway is completed, a steady stream of Ming troops and supplies will enter Burma from Yunnan and Guizhou, which will change the balance of strength in Myanmar and gradually form an overwhelming advantage.For Wu Sangui, his only choice is to defeat Zhao Ming before the road is built.In this case, then Zhao Ming could build a fortress that made Wu Sangui feel desperate and wait for Wu Sangui to come and send him to his death.Zhao Ming saw that the scribe had written down his order, so he immediately said loudly, "Then send an order to the army, build a camp on the spot, build fortifications, and wait for Wu Sangui's attack." ”()