The Xu Army fleet sailed along the coast of Japan, crossed Iki Island east of Tsushima Island in early September, and entered the waters of northern Kyushu. Han Tong, the commander of the Jiaolong Army, served as the fleet's commander.
This was the first large-scale maritime expedition of the Central Plains Dynasty. The imperial court had made a lot of preparations over the past few months, but it was clearly inexperienced.
Some Han people, Koreans and Japanese merchants who are familiar with the East China Sea said that there might be typhoons here in summer and autumn. Now it is the end of autumn, and Han Tong can only hope for luck. The typhoon season is over because the court can't wait until winter. The situation of Xu Jun in Iwami Castle is unknown. If no reinforcements are sent, they can only sit back and watch them die.
The fleet consists of more than one hundred large and small ships, carrying about six thousand newly recruited soldiers of the Jiaolong Army. Most of the soldiers are from the former Southern Tang navy. The Southern Tang surrendered soldiers were originally under the command of Liu Renzhan. In the past two years, the military power of the generals has been gradually taken back, and the Southern Tang army has been reorganized into a guard army.
The experience of these naval forces was limited to fighting on the Yangtze River and Huai River. However, they were more water-savvy and adaptable to the swaying ships than most of the soldiers from the Central Plains. Therefore, the court gave up on incorporating the imperial guards into the Jiaolong Army, and instead incorporated the guards from the Southern Tang Dynasty into the Imperial Guards and the Jiaolong Army as part of the Imperial Guards.
The composition of the fleet was quite complex. Half of the ships were a combination of light boats, Dashi ships and Central Plains pointed-bottom ships, and nearly half were Goryeo ships and pointed-bottom merchant ships purchased and requisitioned as much as possible. Among them, only three large ships were Mulan ships.
Since last year, the court has been building a large number of warships at the Jiangning Shipyard, but the construction speed is slow due to the size of the dock and the scarcity of craftsmen. Working day and night, they have only recently built dozens of light boats and three Mulan ships, which are mainly limited by the lack of large docks.
Han Tong's flagship was the large Mulan ship, which weighed more than 3,000 tons and had a displacement of about 300 to 400 tons. It could carry nearly 200 people and had 24 thousand-jin copper cannons, one layer on each side.
The three large ships are the main warships of the fleet, and dozens of light boats are also warships; Goryeo ships and pointed-bottom merchant ships are difficult to serve as main warships. They are mainly used to transport supplies and troops, and can also engage in close combat.
A light boat carries 30 to 50 people in a team, and 10 people in a team. The highest-ranking military officer on board is the military envoy. The number of naval forces is different from that of ordinary troops. The hull is too thin to use the main copper cannon. But there is always a way. Guo Shao and the officials and craftsmen of the Armor Factory have tinkered with a small cannon that can be used on small boats: the mother-and-child cannon.
The gun body is made of iron and the inner shell is made of copper. After firing, the inner shell can be replaced immediately to fire again. Therefore, the firing speed is much faster than that of copper guns, but the technology is limited and the sealing is not very good, so the range is very short and the power is far less than that of copper guns. The sub-cannon is light, only more than 100 kilograms per gun, and it is no problem to put it on a light boat or ship.
There was also the guest envoy Lu Duxun on the flagship, who was also the military supervisor of the Jiaolong Army. He was in the central military cabin. There were storms on the sea, and even the big ship was swaying. Lu Duxun was a little uncomfortable with the sea trip, especially when reading and writing, he felt dizzy and nauseous.
He calmed himself and quickly wrote a line on the paper: September 6th, Kuroshio is heading north, southeast wind.
The Kuroshio is a warm current, the flow of water in the ocean. Because the ocean current is dark in color, it is called the Kuroshio.
Lu Dosun found writing difficult, so he put down his brush immediately and pulled open the bamboo curtain on the window. He immediately saw Han Cangyan, dressed in military armor, standing on the bow deck with his legs apart. His body was very stable as the boat swayed.
The sea breeze blew up Han Tong's red cloak, which rustled in the wind like a flag. He had been standing there motionless for a long time.
Han was stunned. This man was not good at making friends and talking, but Lu Dosun could feel that his heart was like the turbulence of the waves. This was an unknown pioneering. Sometimes Lu Dosun thought it was very crazy and radical. Thousands of soldiers and a fleet of supplies that cost the national treasury a huge amount of money set off on a long journey for the first time. The risks were indescribable.
Here in the vast ocean, all the rules are different from those on the familiar land.
Perhaps, only Guo Shao had the courage to make such a decision, and only the founding monarch had such power and prestige.
Lu Duxun's mind reappeared the last audience before leaving Beijing. Guo Shao's ardent and expectant eyes. He said it must be feasible. People in the world are always afraid to take the first step on a road that no one has walked before.
There was a compass on the table next to Lu Doson, which was similar to a Feng Shui tool. It could point out the direction, but it was easy to make mistakes just by relying on it. The East China Sea Navy also had two other ways to assist in the route:
First, try to rely on the land coast as a reference. The method is to bring a few Koreans or Japanese as guides so that they can communicate in language, and send people to the shore to inquire about the place in order to find out the approximate location.
Second, rely on a civil servant from the Imperial Observatory.
Just as Lu Duxun was thinking about this, a white-haired civil servant came in. Lu Duxun clasped his fists and politely asked, "Gao Jianzheng, can you still withstand the storm at sea?"
"It's still good, it's still good," said Gao Shouzhen, who was the Supervisor, calmly.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Xu Dynasty, civil officials were basically floating officials, but there was one exception, that is, the officials of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. People like Gao Shouzhen, once they entered the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, could no longer work in other government offices, nor could they resign at will; the source of officials was also mostly hereditary. Perhaps this kind of civil servant who could observe the celestial phenomena made the royal family feel that they had mysterious abilities. After all, everyone still believed in gods, so they had to be more strictly controlled to prevent scholars from drifting away.
Gao Shouzhen had a talent. In addition to being able to revise the calendar and observe the celestial phenomena at night, he was very familiar with the stars. He could observe the direction and height of various stars with his eyes to estimate his position.
Xu Jun used several methods and tried to stay close to the land and the sea to ensure his course.
At this time, Han Tong, who was outside the cabin, also came in. The three civil and military officials greeted each other and sat down one by one. Lu Dosun was the first to say: The black tide is heading north and the wind is blowing from the south. If the Japanese army intercepts the fleet in front, it will be very beneficial to us.
After hearing this, Han Tong nodded with a stern face: General Lu is right.
Lu Duosun's title of military supervisor was just an assignment. His main official position was actually the cabinet assistant minister and the provincial envoy. He always mentioned military supervisor, as if he was someone who was always monitoring and reporting. It immediately became alienated. Han Tong was a nasty person. That was how it was. Any random word he said was always inexplicably unpleasant to the ear.
Han Tong added casually: Marching and deploying troops is nothing more than that. Before the battle, try to make the time, place and people favorable to yourself, and then use the strong to attack the weak.
Gao Shouzhen spoke very little, but at this moment he stroked his beard calmly and said: No wonder General Han is not as famous as Shi Qianfeng.
Han Tong disagreed and said, "But I am worried that the Japanese army is unwilling to fight against me when the wind and the current are against me. They have at least two ways. One is to hide the main force in the strait between Kitakyushu and Honshu in the Shimonoseki Channel of Kitakyushu; wait for my main force to go north, then go out of the channel and pursue us in the upwind and upstream direction. The other is to bypass Kyushu Island and pursue my fleet from the south, which can also take advantage of the favorable wind."
Although the sea is vast, the fleet does not sail randomly. Generally, there are relatively fixed offshore routes, otherwise there may be more risks such as encountering reefs, getting lost, unknown weather changes, etc. Therefore, in the Sea of Japan, it is necessary to intercept and find large fleets, and there are traces to follow.
Lu Dosun said: If the Japanese army gives up the waterway, they can only watch our troops approach to reinforce Iwami Castle.
Han Tong shook his head and said: "Not at this time, the naval battle is the place to decide the outcome, not the length of time. If the Japanese army can defeat our fleet, the fall of Iwami Castle is just a matter of time; otherwise, no one can stop Daxu from punishing Japan.
After hearing this, Lu Duxun pondered and said: General Han's implication is that the Japanese army will not mind the long journey and trouble, nor will they care about the urgency of the battle.
Han Tong frowned and said: In my opinion, this is indeed a wise move. If you want to defeat your opponent, you must not be impatient and impulsive. You must do everything you can to benefit yourself.
However, Han Tong was only a military commander, and his guesses about other things were often inaccurate. This time he guessed wrong again.
A few days later, in the early morning, near the coast of Japan, someone suddenly came into the cabin and reported: An enemy ship was spotted to the north.
Han Tong had just gotten up. When he heard the news, he immediately asked: How many ships are there
The visitor said: It’s not very clear, there is fog on the sea
Han Tong immediately said: "Drums must be beaten, and the whole army must prepare for battle."
Get the order
Not long after, rapid drum beats were heard outside. Soon, the rhythm of the drum beats seemed to be contagious, and drums were beaten on the warships all around. For a moment, the drum beats became one and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Han Tong took the helmet from his personal guard, put it on, fastened the leather buckle, walked onto the deck, and then climbed up the wooden ladder to the stern of the ship. The soldiers on the deck moved faster, and the shouts were heard everywhere.
Han Tong rested his hands on the carved wooden railing and looked at the scene ahead. The vast and undulating sea was covered with a layer of mist surging in the wind, and indeed, the dark shadows of ships were looming in the distance.
He ordered all ships to slow down, with the warships in front and the baggage in the back, and to reorganize the formation. Han Tong gave another order.
The triangular red flag on the flagship changed its quantitative characteristics, and the messenger blew the horn to alert other ships. It was the first time that Daxu formed a large force battle formation at sea, and absorbed some of the original military order transmission rules and military laws of the Tiger Army, and flag language was one of them; but for the time being, it could only issue simple military orders such as attack, retreat, and wait in formation.
Normally, there is no need for military orders, and all ships will keep a good distance from the flagship. Han Tong's flagship is very eye-catching. First, the hull is very large, and second, it is hung with the flag of the Jiaolong Army, with a yellow dragon pattern and the word "Da Xu" written on it.
While Han Tong was waiting for the troops to prepare for battle, he kept an eye on the movements of the enemy ships ahead. He was a little puzzled: Could it really be the main force of the Japanese navy? The enemy's commander was too straightforward, and simply came up to fight to the death. Such an opponent really made Han Tong less worried. After all, he was harder than fists.