Kai Fu Han

Chapter 200 Arriving at Hirado
Liu Xinqi lost interest in continuing the conversation and ended the conversation by saying to Soraimo: "We plan to leave for Matsuura County on September [-]th. We hope to receive good news from you before then."

The time told to Soraimo was one day later than the actual departure time. This was to prevent Soraimo from informing the Matsuura party of the departure time and to prepare them for the battle.

If the actual departure time is one day earlier, it will have the effect of a surprise attack. If the Matsuura Party really intends to resist with force, the Xinghan League's early arrival will catch them off guard.

……

On the ninth day of the ninth month, it was at Tsushima Nangang.

All the ships heading to Hizen Country the day before were ready, with complete supplies and personnel.

As soon as the sun rose on the [-]th, the ships began to leave the port one after another and assembled in the outer sea.

In the past two days, I haven't seen Soraimo coming over to eat and drink. He probably went to Hizen Country to negotiate in person. As the middleman of the Japanese country to the East Asian continent for hundreds of years, the Tsushima Island clan's business inns are spread across the five territories and seven roads of the Japanese country. Has dealt with almost all lords.

Liu Xinqi believed that the Zong family and the Songpu Party could get along, but in the final analysis, the Zong family and the Songpu Party were in a competitive relationship. They were both engaged in maritime trade. The Songpu Party would not necessarily give the Zong family face, and the Zong family would not pay too much for this matter. Big price.

Therefore, Liu Xinqi did not quite believe that the Zong family could successfully negotiate.

At the front of the fleet is Big White and Xiaobai. Since Liu Xinqi captured the two great white sharks, they have eaten every day and their bellies are round. Judging from the size and appearance, there is no change in the data, but the two great white sharks are obviously better than when the card was first attached. I am much more flexible, I guess I have completely adapted to my new body.

According to the prisoner's confession, Hirado Island, where Hirado Castle is located, is not connected to the main island of Kyushu. There is a narrow strait between the northeast of Hirado Island and the main island of Kyushu. The narrowest point is only about one mile. Hirado Castle is located The west side of this narrow channel is a little bit below the northeast corner of Hirado Island.

All ships going to Hirado Castle must enter the strait first. The Matsuura Party has set up a watchtower at the northernmost corner of Hirado Island. Warnings are also arranged on the two small islands in the north. Any ship intending to enter the strait will be discovered in advance. Whether it is an enemy or a friend, Hirado Castle will be prepared.

In fact, in addition to entering from the north, you can also enter the strait from the south. However, to circumnavigate the entire Hirado Island, you need to sail more than 100 miles. Although circumnavigating the island will avoid warnings and watchtowers, the more than 100 miles of coastline, Xinghan League Ten A fleet of several large ships will inevitably be discovered by the people on the island.

Affected by various factors, Liu Xinqi decided to go for it openly.

At noon, Iqi Island "ran" from the southeast of the fleet's sailing direction to the due east of the fleet. Liu Xinqi estimated that two-thirds of the voyage had been completed, and a small island could be seen to the south.

Arrange for Dabai and Xiaobai to move forward quickly and intercept the people on the small island who are reporting to Hirado Island.

An hour later, the fleet passed the small island. Liu Xinqi saw six Japanese people floating on the sea holding wooden boards in front of them. Dabai and Xiaobai were swimming in circles, making the six people afraid. Abnormal movement.

"Arrange a boat to rescue them. God is so good at living, so they can be regarded as six laborers." Liu Xinqi arranged for Li Cang. After a while, a boat rowed over and picked up the six people. Other boats Then there was no stopping and continued moving forward.

There is another small island in front, and Dabai and Xiaobai are arranged to repeat the old tricks, but I don't know if this island is not guarded, and the person who sent the message has not been intercepted.

Crossing this small island again, Hirado Island is in front of us. The fleet flagship is less than five miles away from the northernmost tip of Hirado Island. "There is smoke." the lookout shouted.

Liu Xinqi looked towards Hirado Island. There was indeed a plume of smoke rising from the island. It looked very obvious. Moreover, a plume of smoke also rose to the south of this plume. He thought that Hirado City had received military information.

"Do we still want to enter the sea channel?" Li Cang asked.

"Come in, we will have an advantage if we get closer to the melee." Liu Xinqi replied.

In an era before firearms and artillery were developed, the main force for long-distance naval warfare was bows and arrows. The range of bows and arrows was up to 100 meters, and the narrowest part of the sea channel was one mile wide, so there was no need to worry about being attacked by land warfare forces on both sides of the strait.Entering the sea channel, the space for the ships of both sides to move is much smaller. The Xinghan League has warriors as high-end force, and the advantage of close combat is greater than the advantage of shooting at each other.

"I have seen the artillery on the Qingzhou in the past few days. If we equip a large number of such long-range weapons in the future, the future naval battle methods will be rewritten by our Xinghan Alliance." Jiao Rui said.

Before the second fleet set off, Liu Zhimu built two artillery pieces. Both were front-loaded smoothbore cannons that could fire five kilograms of shells. The cannons were four feet long, with a caliber of two minutes and double diameter (referring to the distance between the fire door and the muzzle). The ratio of the inner diameter) is 20, and the gun body weighs three hundred kilograms.

One of the guns was left on shore for testing, and one was installed on the Qingzhou for testing at sea.

"The range of this artillery is still too close, and the power is not enough. It cannot be accurate even if it shoots more than one mile. Even if it is accurate, it can be blocked by thicker ship sides. We still need to continue to develop it to increase the power and range." Liu Xinqi commented. road.

I have seen the cannons of later generations that can shoot dozens of kilometers and cover several miles, but now this front-loaded smoothbore cannon that fires five kilograms of solid shells really makes Liu Xinqi unexcited.

As long as the problem of delayed fuzes is not solved, explosive bombs cannot be produced. Solid bombs are still quite powerful at sea or during sieges. Field battles basically rely on loud noises to scare people or disrupt enemy formations.

While a few people were standing on the deck of the Qizhou chatting, the fleet entered the Hirado Strait (Seaway). Facing these dozen huge ships and the huge fleet, other small boats on the seaway hurriedly avoided, leaving Out of the middle channel.

As soon as he entered the seaway, Liu Xinqi could already see Hirado Port. The entire port was very huge. It looked like there were docks as far as the eye could see, and ships could dock there. Now there are nearly a hundred ships of various types docked at the port.From a distance, there are more boats and fishing boats, and a small number of early boats.

The fleet continued to approach and saw that the port was in chaos and people were moving around. Most of them were rushing towards the ships from inside the port. The sails of some ships had begun to rise, and oars were stretched out on both sides. The ships began to leave the shore. .

"Send an order to the Qingzhou to get to the front and fire a few shots from a distance with artillery to see the effect." Liu Xinqi ordered.

The order was passed back through the signalman, and the Qingzhou began to leave the fleet, bypassing the Qizhou and sailing to the front of the fleet.

The artillery is placed on the front deck of the Qingzhou, in front of the front mast, so the shooting angle is very wide, and the shooting range is in the front, left and right.

The morning boats that sailed out of Hirado Port did not go directly towards the fleet, but gathered and formed an array on the seaway outside the port.

(End of this chapter)