The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 588 Surprise Attack on Laizhou
"I still have to discuss with the navy generals about when to go on an expedition. The current situation does not allow us to delay any longer." Zhu Linmi said and gestured to Zhang Jiayu, "I was just talking to Yuan Zi about the movements of the captives and the red barbarians. .”

Seeing Shi Lang looking at him, Zhang Jiayu hurriedly recounted what he heard from the assistant king earlier.The latter also frowned when he heard the words, "As Master Zhang said, if the navy is attacked by two sides, there will be little chance of winning."

Zhu Linmei immediately said: "So we must not sit still and wait for death, but take the initiative to attack before the captives and barbarians join forces, and defeat them one by one!"

"Your Highness," Shi Lang hesitated, "All the officers and soldiers of the navy are relying on the huge boat in Yongbeili as their heavy weapon. According to the boatman who went north with the Zhangzhou a few days ago, the boat will be launched in a month or so. Do you wait..."

"It's not appropriate to wait any longer." Zhu Linmi shook her head resolutely, "On the battlefield, you must 'surprise the enemy and be unprepared to attack' in order to be invincible.

"Now the navy is waiting for the [-]-ton warship. The Helan people have eyes and ears in Yongbei, how can they not know? They must believe that the navy will wait for the giant ship to enter service before leaving the port for a decisive battle.

"And we just want to surprise the enemy and move north immediately. Although the lack of this ship will reduce the combat power of the navy by [-] to [-]%, it will allow us to win the upper hand!"

He said and looked east, "To tell you the truth, the main reason for me to go to Chongming Island this time is to discuss the details of the battle with the navy generals, and then I will personally preside over the navy oath to boost the morale of the officers and soldiers."

"Your Highness has to think far and wide." Shi Lang is also well versed in the art of war, and he immediately figured out the key points, and offered advice, "We can still go to the Yellow Sea area to wait for work, and we will eventually find another excellent ambush water area last time."

Zhu Linmi smiled again and shook her head, "The last time Zheng Zhilong narrowly escaped death, the memory of the danger in the Yellow Sea must still be fresh in my heart. If we go to ambush again, we may get twice the result with half the effort."

"What does your Highness mean..." Shi Lang wondered, "Could it be that we want to win head-on?"

Estuary of the Yangtze River, Chongming Island.

Daming navy supply and training port.

In the meeting room of the Shaowu, almost all the naval generals were taken aback, "Shoot directly on Laizhou?!"

"Yes!" Zhu Linming's tone was very firm, "Before the warship in Yongbeili was completed, the navy pulled out the anchor and attacked. This is just to catch the enemy by surprise, and attacking the enemy by surprise is equally important.

"Everyone in the Lushui division is preparing to go south to fight me, so we will do the opposite. Before they leave, we will go straight to Laizhou and kill the thief ship in the harbor!"

In later generations, in 1941, the Japanese rushed thousands of miles to attack Pearl Harbor and severely damaged the US Pacific Fleet, thus gaining a short-term maritime advantage.At that time, radar was already popular, and with the sky full of reconnaissance planes, the Americans had not yet been able to spot the Japanese fleet in the vast sea.Zhu Linming has sufficient confidence based on her maritime reconnaissance capabilities in the [-]th century. When the Ming Navy raided the military port in Shandong, [-]% of the Jianlu would still be in the dark.

He continued: "Laizhou Port was only a medium-sized port before. After Zheng Zhilong led a large number of warships to berth here, it was expanded in a hurry, but the artillery used for defense did not increase too much.

"According to the secret report of the Koreans in Laizhou, there are only ten fixed forts along the port and the inbound channel, equipped with seven [-]-pounder guns, [-] [-]-pounder guns, and [-] nine-pounder guns. There is no need to study the smaller ones. .

"That is to say, the firepower of the entire Laizhou Port is only slightly stronger than that of the Shaowu. We also have the detailed distribution of artillery fire in the port. As long as we set the route reasonably, we can avoid a lot of firepower.

"Based on this calculation, only the three fourth-tier cruisers and four fifth-tier frigates of our navy's main force can have more cannons than Zheng Zhilong's large warships plus shore batteries."

The latest "Warship Classification Standard" of the Daming Navy divides all warships into seven classes.First-class battleship: Displacement of more than 28 tons.Equipped with more than [-] cannons, including no less than [-] heavy cannons weighing [-] pounds or more.

Second-tier battleships: Displacement of 28 to 24 tons.Equipped with more than [-] cannons, and no less than [-] heavy cannons weighing more than [-] pounds.

Tier 54 battleship: Displacement of 24 to [-] tons.Equipped with more than [-] cannons, and no less than [-] heavy cannons weighing more than [-] pounds.

Smaller ships are not considered battleships.

Tier 36 cruiser: Displacement of [-] to [-] tons.Equipped with more than [-] cannons, and no less than eight heavy guns weighing more than [-] pounds.

Tier [-] frigate: Displacement of [-] to [-] tons.Equipped with more than eighteen cannons.

Tier VI light frigate: Displacement of more than 130 tons.Equip more than eight cannons.

Those below [-] tons are all classified as auxiliary warships.

According to this set of standards, the 300-ton Shaowu can barely be counted as a fourth-class cruiser, while the remaining warships of more than [-] tons belong to the ranks of frigates.

However, it is not only battleships that can form a battle line to engage the enemy.Which warships can join the battle line is actually determined by the strength of the enemy.

For example, when European naval powers conduct large-scale naval battles, they only use warships of the third rank and above to form a battle line.The firepower and protection of smaller warships are too weak, and they can easily become the "weak spot" on the battle line, and the enemy will inevitably concentrate their breakthroughs from here.

But there are not many powerful warships in the Asian waters at this time, so even the fifth-tier frigates of Ming Dynasty have enough combat power to play a role on the battle line.Against traditional junk ships, even Tier VI frigates can fight in line.

Zheng Chenggong was the first to agree, "The general thinks that this method is feasible. Breaking into Laizhou Port to attack can not only use shelling, but also block enemy ships in the port and set fire to it, which is especially effective in killing the enemy."

Zhang Guoxuan, who had set fire to Zheng Zhilong's warship at the Quanzhou military port before, was also impressed, "The last general is willing to lead the arsonist ship to attack the enemy. The thief Zheng escaped by luck last time, and this time he will definitely not miss again!"

Zhu Linmei nodded and said: "The space in the port is narrow and not easy to disperse. The fire attack is indeed more effective. General Zhang can lead the fast boat to set fire.

"Besides, the North Korean navy is also in the port. Although they don't need to help kill the enemy, they will always leave the ship and escape. As long as they are allowed to stop the ship on the main road in advance, it will be more difficult for the captive ship to deal with. "

He looked around at the generals and said solemnly: "The surprise attack on Laizhou is an important battle for our navy to attack and defend, and it is imperative.

"It doesn't take much, just destroy [-]% of the warships stationed in Shandong by the captives, and the whole battle situation will be under Da Ming's control immediately.

"Afterwards, we can either go south directly to find a decisive battle with the Lan people, or continue to defend the Chongming area. With the construction speed of the three shipyards in Longjiang, Yongbeili, and Nan'an, in the future, no matter whether it is Jianlu or Hongyi, it will be the same as the Ming Dynasty. The gap in the strength of the navy is bound to get bigger and bigger!"

(End of this chapter)