Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2184 Little Marquis ([-]) comes to see you again

At this point, the tasks of the army and the navy seemed to have been assigned, but Ruan Fuze, deputy commander of the Western Expedition Fleet and commander of the mobile fleet, suddenly said: "Commander, I have a question I would like to ask."

The word "ask for advice" is sometimes used in the opposite way to the literal meaning, but Ruan Fuze does not seem to have the opposite meaning here. Gao Yuan nodded slightly: "Commander Ruan, please ask."

Ruan Fuze pointed to a few places on the map hanging on the wall and gestured: "The entire coast of Arakan is not very deep inland. In terms of our maritime advantages, whether it is Chittagong in the northwest or in the middle Mrauk U, the royal capital, was actually easily captured by our army through a joint land and sea attack.

Considering our military strategy, it is understandable that Chittagong was captured first instead of Mrauk U.However, the island mentioned by the commander just now, Gudubdia Island, is located offshore between Mrauk-U and Chittagong, and is also a base for Portuguese mercenaries.

The Portuguese mercenaries were pirates, and they must have warships and sailors under their command, so it would be difficult to guarantee that our fleet would not be discovered by them when it heads north to Chittagong.The mobile fleet led by the humble post is the vanguard of the army. If it encounters this Portuguese pirate mercenary warship, does it need to be destroyed on the spot to prevent it from informing Mrauk U of our army's movements?Do we need to pursue and destroy the ancient Dubudia Island? "

Gao Yuan did not answer immediately this time, but looked at the map and thought.However, he didn't just think and speak. He glanced at the generals at the same time and said: "If you have any suggestions, just tell me."

Since the conversation was about naval affairs, Gao Jing, commander of the Nanyang Fleet and commander of the Western Expedition Fleet, had to speak: "The Portuguese pirate mercenaries have maintained a cooperative relationship with the Arakanese for decades. Although they are not the same group, in the end It’s considered a deep friendship, and it should be impossible for these mercenaries not to report to Mrauk-U after discovering the whereabouts of our army.”

These words first confirmed that Ruan Fuze's concerns were justified.Then Gao Jing continued: "As for how to deal with the unexpected encounter with these Portuguese pirate mercenaries, I think it is best to sink them at sea. If there are fish that escape the net and escape back to the ancient island, then our fleet can be divided a little bit." To pursue, it is best to destroy its ships in the harbor.

As long as the ship of the Ministry is destroyed, there is no need to worry too much about them informing Mrauk-U.After all, the chief of staff had just promised to capture Chittagong within one day.Calculating the time in this way, as long as these Portuguese pirate mercenaries fail to deliver the news to Mrauk U within three days of discovering our fleet, the news will lose its timeliness and become meaningless. "

Gao Yuan knew little about naval warfare. He had only heard some stories from several naval generals who went north to the capital to report on their duties. However, he did not know much about maritime warfare, so he could only nod his head when he heard the words of Gao Jing, an authority on naval warfare.

Who is Gao Jing?When Gao Jingshi conquered Annan and the navy entered the Red River from the sea and unexpectedly attacked Thang Long, the fleet was led by Gao Jing.So in terms of seniority in the Navy, I'm afraid he can be called No. 1.

However, at this moment, Takagizo, deputy chief of staff of the Nanyang Fleet and chief of staff of the Western Expedition Fleet, had different opinions. He said: "This arrangement is certainly safe, but I think it might be more bold. According to previous intelligence, the number of Portuguese mercenaries is not the same." Not many. Even including their servants, the total number is only between three and five thousand. Its ships are also not many, about twenty, and most of them are small boats, the so-called Caravel ships, which only have about Three large Clark ships.”

Perhaps because he was worried that Gao Yuan would not understand well, Takagi San immediately added after finishing his words: "The former requires at least four ships to be equal to the tonnage of an armed transport ship, and the latter is usually only equivalent to an armed transport ship."

After such a comparison, Gao Yuan understood. He nodded and asked, "What about your so-called bolder idea?"

Takagi San suddenly became energetic and said: "The size of our Western Expedition Fleet is a hundred times that of the enemy, and the artillery is more advanced than that of Spain and Portugal. Why do we just drive these pirates to the island? We don't need the help of our army brothers for this matter. With five warships together, we can sink the ships and then use the marines to land on the island and clean it up, completely wiping out this group of Portuguese mercenaries and eliminating future troubles forever." It is said that the two ocean fleets of Beijing and China have marines, but the armed transport ships Marines are generally not carried, only professional warships are equipped with them.The number of Marines on each ship varies according to the class of the warship, and it also fluctuates.

For example: Each second-class cruiser has a tonnage of 1000 tons (2000 materials), one deck of guns, 42 guns of various types, and a crew of 288. This 288 does not include the Marine Corps.Usually when a second-level cruiser is equipped with a marine, the marine is about 80-200 people.

The first-class cruiser has a tonnage of 1200 tons (2400 materials), two decks of guns, 52 artillery pieces of various types, and a capacity of 346 people. When equipped with marines, the number of marines is generally between 140-300.

The third-class battleship has a tonnage of 1600 tons (3200 tons), two decks of guns, 72 artillery pieces of various types, and a capacity of 460 people. The equipped marines are usually about 300-550 people.

The tonnage of the second-level battleship is 2000 tons (4000 materials), with three decks of guns, 88 artillery pieces of various types, and a capacity of 580 people. The equipped marines generally have 480-720 people.

But depending on the combat mission, the battleship can be "overloaded".For example, a third-level battleship can be equipped with a maximum of 800 marines, and a second-level battleship can be equipped with a maximum of 1000 marines. Of course, this is usually fully loaded. Marines are usually sent ashore at close range, and usually on the other side. This will only happen if there is no strong navy that may pose a threat to one's own side.

Why not talk about first-class battleships?Because there are only plans, not construction yet - mainly because it is too expensive, and Gao Pragmatic believes that there is no need for such a giant ship with a single mission of combat.To put it simply, the cost-effectiveness ratio is not very good.However, the construction drawings for the first-class battleships have been designed a few years ago, and they are just lying around and gathering dust.

Having said that, Takagi San's statement of "gathering five battleships" at this time was not quite accurate.According to the standard of "five ships", based on the configuration of this Western Expedition, if there are five second-class cruisers, since the Marine Corps is not full, there will only be about 600 people.

If there are five first-class cruisers, then there will be about 800 marines; if there are third-class battleships, there will be about 1200 marines; if there are second-class battleships...oh, there are not five second-class battleships, there will only be two in total—— They are the Grand Fleet flagship "Taungoo City" and the mobile fleet flagship "Sukhothai".

The origin of the names of these two second-class battleships is very simple. The former is to commemorate the key battle "Battle of Taungoo City" where Huang Zhiting pacified Burma, and the latter is to commemorate Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin's defeat of the black prince Naresuan of Siam and their subsequent pacification. The "Battle of Sukhothai" in Siam.

Although Gao Yuan was not familiar with naval warfare, he was still familiar with naval establishment, so he had some doubts about the credibility of Takagi San's words, or he felt that this plan was too bold.He frowned slightly and asked: "Even if we give you five third-level battleships, the Marine Corps will only have 1000 or [-] people. Do you mean to use this number of people to take down the ancient island?"

Takagizo laughed and said: "Commander, don't be so surprised. In fact, there is no need for battleships. Five first-class cruisers are enough."

Gao Yuan really didn't believe it and couldn't help but said: "Oh? There is no joke in the army. Chief of Staff Mu San, don't make a mistake."

Takagi San raised his chin and said: "Although I dare not say that I can seize the island in one day, I dare say that it only takes one day to occupy the only Portuguese mercenary port on the island. Otherwise, I will show you my head."
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(End of this chapter)