Horse on the World

Chapter 362
The black water ocean surrounding Dachu in a half-moon shape is vast and boundless. No one has ever tried to go to the other side of the black ice ocean to see what is there. There are only four sailors in the whole Dachu. The former Fuzhou navy Falling into the hands of Xiang Xianhe, it completely became a tool for him to smuggle salt and accumulate wealth. After more than ten years, a good navy was corrupted to the point of disrepute. Turning around and being liberated, both in terms of fleet size and combat effectiveness, they have gone up several steps. In the south, King Ning controls the other three naval forces of Dachu, namely Dengzhou Navy, Linzhou Navy, and Linzhou Navy. Navy, Bazhou Navy, just from a single navy, they are weaker than Fuzhou Navy, but the three together are far stronger than Fuzhou Navy.

Dachu’s navy has never planned to go on an expedition to Heishuiyang, and the furthest of their cruising radius has only reached Heishuiyang, which is [-] kilometers away from Dachu. Looking around, there is still a vast expanse of water. Pang Jun, the oldest naval general in Da Chu at that time, returned in a state of desperation. He did not dare to take this naval force that had exhausted his life's efforts to take risks. During the process, I sailed at sea for a month, and I only sailed close to the shore, and I never went so far.

But in this boundless black water ocean, the pirates who were beaten to nowhere by the officers and soldiers had no choice but to sail away and escape deeply into the depths of the black water ocean, and escape the siege of the officers and soldiers. Speaking of their understanding of Heishuiyang, it is definitely several grades higher than the officers and soldiers.

Deng Peng, who was ordered to voyage to support the Zeng family, looked at the mighty and mighty fleet behind the Pibo, proud of it, but at the same time facing difficulties. A fleet of this size, even if it escaped deeply into the ground Yuan Hai, I'm afraid it's hard to hide from Nanfang's eyes and ears, but he absolutely doesn't want to let the other party know during this trip. If Nanfang mobilizes three naval forces to deal with him at the same time, then the newly established Fuzhou Navy will disappear in smoke. .Traveling scattered, the entire naval fleet, including myself, has never penetrated so deep into the Black Water Ocean. The sea is terrifying. As a naval general, Deng Peng, who has dealt with it for half his life, naturally understands it deeply. Entering, calm as a virgin, moving like a tiger, even when he is quiet, there are many traps hidden under the blue water like a mirror, which will swallow the careless at any time, and not even a bone will be left. root.

The sea is beautiful and the sea is also terrible.

After discussing for a long time, Deng Peng finally didn't dare to take any risks. He knew that this navy team had devoted too much effort and effort to the Marshal and consumed a lot of financial resources in Dingfu and the two prefectures, so it must not be ruined easily.He must first send an expedition team to explore the channel first.As long as they find out the waterway, the Fuzhou Navy will no longer be a blind man feeling an elephant, taking one step at a time, but can be divided into several teams, sneaking to the east without anyone noticing.

Zheng Zhiyuan was the commander of this advance expedition team.He led an advance team consisting of a five thousand warship, two three thousand warships, and five thousand warships, and set off first one month in advance.

Zheng Zhiyuan's flagship Izumo, in addition to carrying a large amount of ordnance on board, also carried 500 marines, plus 100 sailors and crew, a total of [-] people. There were only [-] sailors on the ship, and only a little more than [-] sailors on the thousand-material battleship, and the surplus was loaded with supplementary supplies.The fleet of seven warships sailed far away into the depths of the Blackwater Ocean, and then turned eastward, in order to avoid people on the shore from discovering the course of these warships.In the entire Dingfu prefecture, not many people know the real destination of the water, and most people only know that this is a routine sea training for the navy.

After walking on the sea for half a month, the weather has been calm and the weather is very good. Even Zheng Zhiyuan has to lament that his luck is not bad. On the top floor of the Izumo, gazing at the gentle sea, watching countless waterfowls rising and falling, or skimming the sea, or swooping from the sky, is quite different from the scene on land.

These water birds don't avoid people very much, and occasionally a few of them will land on the huge hull of the Izumo, and even wander around the deck, leisurely.People who sail on the sea will not harm seabirds, and some sailors will even pick up some as bait and feed them with small fish and shrimps.

The speed of the fleet is not fast. Zheng Zhiyuan estimates that it has far passed the [-]-kilometer warning line, and the southern navy should not find themselves. It's just that they are unfamiliar with the waterway, making them walk on thin ice, and take every step carefully.A few miles ahead of the entire fleet, a thousand-material warship was exploring the way.On the Izumo, the clerk spread the chart on the table and carefully marked the passageway.

The two hundred marines had nothing to do, except cleaning their swords and arranging their armor every day. Some of them couldn't bear the loneliness and ran up to the deck or hold to be sailors. Anyway, these people are suitable for all waterways. Zheng Zhiyuan also turned a blind eye to this behavior that obviously violated the operating regulations. After all, it is too lonely on the sea, and in the navy, it is strictly forbidden for officers and soldiers to gamble with each other, except for those who have already played. Tired of the game, these people really can't find any new tricks.On the contrary, the captain of the two hundred marines, his own brother Zheng Zhiqiang's performance made Zheng Zhiyuan very happy. After several years of tempering, this younger brother who used to be flamboyant and impatient is now stable and stable. Seeing him hanging his feet over the boat and concentrating on fishing, Zheng Zhiyuan nodded secretly. Looking at him now, who would know that a few years ago, this kid was a notorious ranger on the street.

The army is a big melting pot, which can fundamentally change a person's character. The commander-in-chief's words are authentic, and it is not in vain that when he established the Marine Corps, he asked someone to intercede, and he took advantage of his own. It was only because of his face that the general in charge of the Marine Corps of the Navy agreed to accept this guy. Of course, this guy who was very reluctant to join the army at the time made people look up to him not long after, and even made the old friend who recruited him into the Marine Corps smile. From ear to ear, he privately said that Zheng Zhiqiang was destined to be a soldier, and now the guy who caused his parents a headache is now Captain Zhenwu, and the commander obviously values ​​the Marine Corps. Yes, the level of officials is higher than that of the army, and the same size of the army is a line higher. The strength is in this army, and the future is bright.Zheng Zhiyuan thought happily.I really want to go for a drink.

But Zheng Zhiyuan's comfortable life soon ended, and after two or three days of walking, the weather suddenly changed, and seeing the dark clouds that were about to be suppressed, Zheng Zhiyuan spat bitterly, "Damn it, at this time, it will Is there such an annoying weather? The sea is really a child's face, and it will change as soon as it changes!While calling back the warships that explored the way in front, and gathering the entire fleet together as close as possible, all the sailors got busy, and the four sails of the five thousand warships were put down. They were all tightly reinforced with ropes to prevent them from moving and hurting people when the storm came. At this time, even [-] marines were mobilized to join the busy team.

When the night was about to fall, the water fleet, which was facing an enemy, finally ushered in the first storm after their long voyage.

The first is the wind, unlike on land, when the wind comes, it is always small and then strong, and gradually strengthens. Here, when the wind comes together, it is like the wind god has been raped. The ground hit the hull, knocking the Izumo several meters away, and the other ships were even more unbearable.

As soon as the wind blows, it seems to have no rest. Although I am a sailor, I am used to wind and waves, but they are all in the sea. Now, as far as the eye can see, except for the turbulent water waves coming one after another, As far as the eye can see, there is nothing.

It should have been an hour before night fell, but now, the sky was already blurry, Zheng Zhiyuan ordered loudly: "Send light signals to all ships, handle them carefully, and follow the Izumo closely."

The wind and waves are getting bigger and bigger, and now there are more than ten high waves. Standing on the lower deck of the Izumo, the water waves seem to be poured from the sky, pouring on the deck with a crash, and the sailors fixed themselves In the operation position, when the water waves hit, I just lowered my head to avoid it, but most of the time, I opened my eyes wide, opened my ears, and listened carefully to the orders issued by the chief, so as to operate according to the orders.

The Izumo is like a toy ship at this time, sometimes lifted high by the turbulent wind and waves, and sometimes falls heavily to the bottom of the valley. Low, seeing the wind and waves on both sides that are far higher than the hull, people who have not lived on the sea for a long time will be really frightened.

Two hundred marines were ordered to return to the cabin and firmly fixed themselves on the bulkhead. At this time, all the people on the deck except the necessary operators returned to the cabin. Zheng Zhiqiang sat at the door At the side, a strong rope looped around his waist, and he was firmly tied to the bulkhead, but he still held his saber tightly in his hand, and looked at his team members with piercing eyes. Apart from being pale, most of the people looked normal, and a few were even joking loudly.

This is already the case for the Izumo, and the situation of other warships smaller than the Izumo is even more worrying. At the beginning, the fleets could still communicate with each other through lights. Later, the news between the ships was completely lost. There is no longer any contact with each other.

The wind and waves lasted for most of the night before they stopped. After the wind and waves passed, the sailors on the ship were exhausted and collapsed on their posts. The sailors in the middle of the night helped him down, and he replaced him.

The sailors finished their duties and could go to rest, but Zheng Zhiyuan, the fleet commander, couldn't rest. Although he was exhausted, he had to cheer up because he found that there were no ships around him. The warships, the two three-thousand-material warships and the five thousand-material warships all disappeared without a trace, and it is unknown where they drifted to.

(End of this chapter)