Chapter 1077 Zhifu Bay

After rounding Chengshanjiao, the fleet turned around and sailed westward along the coast. A hundred miles away from Chengshanjiao is an important place on the northern coastline of the Jiaodong Peninsula. Weihaiwei is known as the maritime gateway to Beijing and Tianjin. Ming Hongwu San

In the eleventh year, in order to resist the invasion of Japanese pirates, the Ministry of War established Weihai Guard here, which had jurisdiction over thousands of households behind Baichi Cliff.

"Chief, the lookout post discovered a small warship flying the flag of the Ming Army on the southwest sea, about five nautical miles away."

When the fleet passed through the waters near Liugong Island, its whereabouts were inevitably exposed. However, it was only discovered by the Ming army when it got here, and the other side had no time to take any further measures.

Wang Tom said: "Continue to monitor. If there are changes in the other party's movements, report it immediately!"

Under today's fine weather conditions, at a distance of five nautical miles, as long as the opponent is not blind, he will definitely have discovered the existence of the northward fleet. And a fleet of this size has not appeared in the offshore waters of the Jiaodong Peninsula in the past two or three years.

The last time a large-scale fleet went to sea at the mouth of the Bohai Sea may be traced back to the time when Kong Youde's rebels took advantage of the navy fleet stationed in Dengzhou and fled to the Liaodong Peninsula. Wang Tom can completely imagine that the Ming army on that ship saw this fleet.

A huge fleet of hundreds of sailing ships would be so shocking.

However, the appearance of a Ming warship will not affect the progress of the fleet. The current position is only about fifty nautical miles away from the destination. There is no force that can stop this fleet. No matter what the Ming warship is,

With whatever mood they were monitoring at sea, the fleet sailed past Weihaiwei two hours later and headed west straight to Zhifu Island.

Zhifu Bay is only more than a hundred miles away from Dengzhou City. It is the jurisdiction of Dengzhou Wei Qishan Qianhu Office. It was inevitably affected by the Denglai Rebellion in the past two years. Qishan Qianhu Office

Most of the multi-person establishment was killed during the counterattack on Dengzhou City, which was occupied by the rebels. Currently, it only maintains one-third of the normal strength. After Kong Youde's rebels defected to Liaodong more than a year ago, Dengzhou

The state was basically at peace, and the local government was busy getting young people to resume production, and was not in a hurry to recruit troops to replenish the establishment.

There is a hill protruding into the sea on the southern coast of Zhifu Bay. The highest point is only more than 40 meters above sea level, but it can overlook the entire Zhifu Bay. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent Japanese pirates from invading, a monitoring and warning pier was built here.

After discovering the enemy's situation, smoke was raised during the day and fire was lit at night as a means of warning and signaling, and this hillock was named Yantai Mountain. The later Yantai City was also named after this place.

The barracks and stables built by Qi Jiguang, the famous anti-Japanese general, are still preserved on Yantai Mountain. However, because the entire Qishan Institute is severely under-manned, the number of troops stationed here has to be reduced from the general banner to the small banner. Only ten of them are retained.

There are multiple people in the establishment. The leader of the soldiers here is an old man in his forties and almost fifty. His colleagues in the army call him Zheng Laoqi, but no one knows how he got this nickname, because now

The soldiers on duty here were all transferred from other guard posts to fill the vacancies in the establishment after the Denglai Rebellion.

Zheng Laoqi's two sons were also soldiers in the Dengzhou Guard, but they were killed in battle during the Denglai Rebellion, so now he is the only man left in the family. Zheng Laoqi was originally a veteran in the army, and now

Without Bentou, he was free to cause trouble in the army. The superiors felt that he was a pitiful man, and it was not easy to punish him, so they simply sent him to garrison in Yantai Mountain, out of sight and out of mind.

This place is less than ten miles away from Qishansuo City in the south. There is not much problem in terms of living security, and the work is extremely leisurely. I just stare at the empty Zhifu Bay every day. There is no need to patrol, and there is no need to work around the clock.

We must monitor the bay completely because there are no permanent residents in this place. The people who originally lived here have long since disappeared during the war. As for the Japanese pirates, there are not even ghosts in this place. How can there be stupid Japanese pirates?

Cross the sea and come here to rob.

On this day, Zheng Laoqi was rarely in a good mood because he had received military pay. He usually drank 2 ounces of wine, but he drank half a jin at noon, so he couldn't sleep in the camp in the afternoon. While he was still gnashing his teeth in his dream, he was talking to Kong Youde's rebels.

While fighting, he was suddenly woken up by someone pushing him: "Zheng Tou, a fleet has come from the sea and has entered Zhifu Bay!"

Zheng Laoqi replied in a daze: "What fleet? Japanese pirates?"

"It's not like Japanese pirates. Japanese pirates don't have such big ships." The soldier opened his hands and gestured: "There are two ships that are bigger than the Dengzhou Navy's Dafu ship before!"

"Aren't you blinded? Will such a big ship come to Zhifu Bay?" Zheng Laoqi sat up from the bed doubtfully. Although he didn't quite believe what his subordinates said, out of duty, he still put on his clothes and walked out.

to the barracks to see what he called a fleet of strange ships.

When Zheng Laoqi saw a row of sailboats sailing into Zhifu Bay from east to west, he was half drunk. These ships were obviously not the lucky ships often seen along the northern coast, nor were they the eye-catching appearance of Japanese pirates.

Yawatabune. The hulls are all long and pointed, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. They are more like the Guangbun style that is only built in the south. And the two largest ones are indeed one size larger than the former Fuchuan in Dengzhou Shuicheng.

.However, the sails of these ships are not hard sails, and the style is something Zheng Laoqi has never seen before. They are still quite different from the Guangzhou ships he knows.

There are red and blue flags hanging on the masts of these ships, obviously belonging to the same fleet, but Zheng Laoqi has been at the seaside for decades and has never seen flags of this shape, let alone

From this we can deduce the identity of this fleet.

At this time, a soldier came over and asked for instructions: "Zheng Tou, do you want to raise smoke as a warning?"

"The identity of the other party has not been confirmed yet, what a shame!" Zheng Laoqi scolded with a stern face: "If this is a merchant ship passing by here, and smoke is raised to warn that the army will be mobilized, what will happen then?"

Yantai Mountain is said to be a beacon tower, but in the past year or two, no beacon fire warning has actually been issued, and Zheng Laoqi is not willing to make the matter a big deal when the situation is unclear. If it is confirmed later,

It was a false alarm, and he, the leader, must bear the responsibility. The direction of these ships is not towards Yantai Mountain, so for now, you can rest assured and observe for a while to see the other party's movements.

Several smaller boats arrived at the coast first and slowly stopped about ten feet away from the beach. Zheng Laoqi estimated that the people on the boat wanted to measure the depth of the water first to prevent the larger boats behind them from docking.

Sometimes there are strandings. However, he is more familiar with the sea conditions of Zhifu Bay than these uninvited guests. He can know the approximate water depth by looking at the position. Not to mention the few boats in front of him, even if larger boats with deeper drafts come, they will be able to do so without any pressure.

They docked on the shore. Sure enough, not long after, the ships slowly sailed forward for a while, stopped very close to the coast, and then began to build a springboard.

"Looks like we have to go on a trip!" Zheng Laoqi raised his voice and shouted loudly: "Gather the whole team!"

The straight-line distance between the docking place of this fleet and Yantai Mountain is only two or three miles. To go around it on land, you have to walk at least four or five miles more. But the Ming army guarding the pier must go and find out where their duties lie.

It is important to know the identity of the fleet. Zheng Laoqi left five people on the pier to continue observing the situation. Before leaving, he did not forget to warn them: "If you don't see us for two hours, we will wait to turn around. No matter what the situation is, we will send out a smoke warning."

Call for reinforcements!"

Zheng Laoqi didn't know that while he was observing the opponent's movements, someone on the deck of the fleet was also observing the pier of Yantai Mountain with a telescope.

"There is no smoke! These Ming troops are really brave!" Takahashi Minami saw that after the fleet docked one after another, no warning smoke was raised in the direction of Yantai Mountain. Although he was relieved, he was also a little disappointed. However,

The performance of the Ming army was a good thing for the main fleet that was about to arrive at Zhifu Bay. Takahashi Nan estimated that if he moved faster, he should be able to lead people in front to touch the piers on Yantai Mountain.

This vanguard fleet carried troops from two companies of the special operations battalion. After disembarking, they quickly formed in accordance with the pre-arrangement and moved out in two directions: north and south. The one heading north was along Zhifu Bay.

In the direction of Zhifu Island, the team heading south is heading directly towards Yantai Mountain.

Zheng Laoqi didn't know that he had become the target of the other party's calculations. He had been standing outside for a while when the sea breeze blew, and he had a severe headache. He had never touched this kind of bad wine that would have sequelae after drinking it.

It happened, but now the whole Dengzhou is in desperate need, and there is no grain wine on the market. The wine I drank today was thanks to his connections, and he got the stock from Qishan Suo City. But I didn’t expect this wine.

The stamina is so great, if I had known I wouldn't have drank so much at noon.

Not far away from Yantai Mountain, Zheng Laoqi already felt dizzy from the pain in his head, and even started to stagger. Several soldiers nearby saw this and quickly stretched out their hands to support him, otherwise he would probably fall.

Something went wrong.

Zheng Laoqi also felt that it was difficult to persist, so he ordered to stop and rest for a while before continuing. But when he felt that his energy had recovered a little and he could continue to march, he discovered that a group of expressionless people holding long pipes appeared from all directions.

The man in gray with a blazing gun.

Zheng Laoqi jumped up from the tree stump he was sitting on, and quickly pulled out his waist knife. He seemed to have completely lost the aftereffects of drunkenness. However, the few soldiers he led were half a beat slower than him in reacting, and then they all also offered sacrifices.

Release your weapon and form a circle to the outside.

"Put down your weapons and nothing will happen to you."

As the voice sounded, Zheng Laoqi saw a stocky man coming out. This man was also wearing a gray shorts and trousers, but he was carrying a long Japanese sword at his waist. Judging from his words and actions, he should

He is the leader of this group of people.

"You guys... these are Japanese pirates!" Zheng Laoqi saw the weapons on this man's waist and already made a guess in his mind about the identity of this group of people.

"We are not Japanese pirates, I say it again, put down your weapons!" Gao Qiaonan raised his voice, and all the men in gray surrounding the Ming army took two steps forward, and the raised muzzles of their guns were a few feet closer to the Ming army.

Zheng Laoqi saw that the caliber of the fire cannons in the hands of these people was as thick as a finger. As a veteran who had been in the army for almost thirty years, he still knew very well what would happen if he was hit by fire cannons at such a distance.

His hands could not help but tremble slightly. The group of gray-clothed men surrounding him all had extremely strong murderous auras. It was obvious that they were not good people, and Zheng Laoqi did not intend to take the risk to find out what kind of style these people had in their hands.

Is the weird fire gun a real weapon or a fake? Zheng Laoqi didn't think about it for too long before he made his decision.

"Put the sword away first." Zheng Laoqi gave the order to his subordinates and took the lead in sheathing the sword.

"This officer is Zheng Qi, the small flag of Qianhu Station in Weiqishan, Dengzhou. Where are you from, and why did you land with weapons? Why don't you tell me quickly!" Although Zheng Laoqi put away his weapons, he said

But he didn't give in.

"How dare Xiaoqi call himself an official?" Gao Qiaonan sneered: "The guardsmen in Shandong Province are quite official!"

Gao Qiaonan did not mean to humiliate the other party. When he was garrisoned in Fujian and Zhoushan, the people he dealt with were at least Qianhu, commanding officers, and senior officers at the level of the state garrison commander, and Xiaoqi

This kind of low-level military attache with almost zero presence has no chance of contact at all.

Gao Qiaonan put his hand into his arms, and when he took it out, there was already a white sign in his hand: "I am Liao Xun, a hundred households in Fusi, Jinyiweibei Town. I am specially sent to Shandong to inspect the coastal defense. Mr. Zheng, do you recognize this sign?"

Although Zheng Laoqi is a low-level officer, he has been in the army long enough and has seen enough things. He looked carefully at the ivory waistband handed over by the other party. It was indeed the standard of the Imperial Guard. But the other party was the emperor.

The hundreds of families who are close to the Jin Yiwei are at least starting from the sixth level, and they have great real power. Compared with me, a small flag affiliated to the Wei Suo Army, they are really not from the same world.

"The little man Zheng Qi has met Lord Liao!" An old man like Zheng Laoqi naturally won't dwell on his worthless face. Since the other party revealed his identity as a senior military attache on a mission, he would admit his mistake immediately.

No matter what the next low pile was, he knelt down on one leg and saluted Takahashi Nan without hesitation. When several of his subordinates saw this posture, they all followed him hesitantly and knelt on the ground.

"This thing is really easy to use!" Gao Qiaonan took over the Jinyiwei waist badge that Zheng Laoqi raised above his head with both hands, and couldn't help but feel a little happy. Back then, they escorted Liao Xun, the real Jinyiwei Baihu, back to Zhoushan from Hangzhou

Afterwards, naturally he did not let go of this status badge.

Before setting off from Zhoushan, Gong Shiqi gave this thing to him and asked him to use it as appropriate after arriving at Zhifu Island. Unexpectedly, it came in handy as soon as he landed on the island. Although his group did not wear any

Feiyu suit, but the momentum he displayed and the weapons and equipment he carried should have fully intimidated the opponent.
Chapter completed!