Zhao Xuhai said: "While they turn to defend their backs, the Wanjintang's ships rush up and kill them by surprise."

At this time, more than twenty ships from Okura Castle had already sailed three or four miles away from the water fort, and were within the range of the artillery. Just because the lights on each ship were not lit, there were no signs of artillery fire in the water fort. , probably still haven’t noticed it.

The "Jinyu" sailed slower, lagging far behind the ships rushing ahead.

From the rear of the water village, the sound of rumbling artillery continued to be heard, and from time to time there were flames shooting into the sky. It was obvious that the Cantonese navy and the pirate ships had begun to attack each other with artillery.

At this time, Bai Yiling, who was next to him, suddenly said: "Master, look at the pirate ships around the water village. They are tall and short. They are really strange." [

Hua Bushi was not proficient in water warfare, but after hearing what Bai Yiling said, he also noticed the many ships sailing out of the water village of the "Black Dragon Palace". At first glance, they seemed to be scattered on the sea surface, but in fact they were They are high and low and arranged in an orderly manner around the water village. They are not parked randomly.

The young master couldn't help but frown and said to Zhao Xuhai: "As a general of the Imperial Navy, Mr. Zhao Qian is well-informed. Could it be possible that he could see that there is a mystery in the arrangement of the opponent's ships?"

Zhao Xuhai squinted his eyes and looked at the ships outside the water village for a long time before he said: "These ships are indeed a bit unusual. They look a bit like the legendary 'Thousand Scales Water Formation'. Could it be that they are in the sea?" Among thieves, there are still experts who are proficient in formations."

The so-called battle formation refers to the arrangement of soldiers in the army to advance and retreat to attack and kill.

Whenever a large army fights, formations must be arranged, because if there are only three, five, or dozens of people fighting, they may be able to swarm together and fight in chaos, but in large-scale battles with hundreds or thousands of people, formations cannot be used. An army that advances and retreats in an orderly manner is much stronger than a scattered army that only knows how to fight.

The famous generals and divisions of the past and present are all proficient in marching formations, and some of the formations they set up are also famous all over the world and have a long history. Among them, the most praised one is the Bagua formation of Zhuge Wuhou during the Three Kingdoms.

Although the battle formations in the army are different from the combined attack formations in the martial arts, they have some similarities. Hua Bushi knows a little about various battle formations, but they are all land formations. He does not know the naval battle formations. But I have never heard of the "Thousand Scales Water Formation".

Zhao Xuhai talked about the "Thousand Scales Water Formation" and suddenly shouted: "No, if the pirates deploy this kind of water formation, our ships will definitely suffer losses if they rush forward rashly."

But at this moment: the water fortress of "Black Dragon Palace" burst into glory, and many silver scales suddenly appeared on each pirate ship, shining brightly. This brilliance shone on the sea around the water fortress, and the ships of Okura Castle There was no light on, so it was originally in darkness, but at this moment, it was immediately exposed to the light emitted by the silver scales.

Looking closely, Hua Bushi has seen that those so-called silver scales are actually many silver-plated mirrors. Ordinary lights cannot reach far: the pirates of the "Black Dragon Palace" use this way of refracting light to inspect the surroundings of the water village. sea ​​surface.

The young master's expression changed and he said to Sima Rulan: "Miss Lan'er, please send an order quickly to tell all our ships to turn around and come back."

The ships in front had rushed within the range of the pirate ship, and the target had been exposed. The situation was already very dangerous. Sima Rulan immediately ordered the gang to send orders for all ships to retreat quickly.

To convey messages on the sea, you can use flags during the day. Now that it is night, you can only use lights instead of flags. A disciple of "Wanjintang" lit two lanterns, stood on a high place and waved them to send the instructions. .

Dozens of ships in Okura City immediately turned around and retreated, and the roar sounded, but it was the water fortress of the "Black Dragon Palace" that had begun to attack. Dozens of pirate ships scattered on the sea, almost at the same time At this moment, artillery fire began, and the three speedboats that originally rushed to the front had no time to retreat. They even tried to avoid the incoming cannons and were hit immediately.

The original intention was to get close to the pirates' water stronghold for a raid, but unexpectedly the other party actually formed the "Thousand Scales Water Formation". Not only did it have a way to scan the surrounding sea, but the defense was extremely tight. Okura Castle's ships had not even gotten close. Three ships have been lost, this is a blow to the head.

Fortunately, Zhao Xuhai recognized the formation deployed by the opponent. Hua Bushi saw that the situation was wrong and immediately asked Sima Rulan to give the order to retreat. The other ships were able to turn around and come back in time, and finally no more losses were suffered.

Sima Rulan watched as the three hit ships sank into the sea water. The knuckles holding the sword hilt turned white, and sparks almost appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Hua Bushi also frowned and said: "Among the 'Black Dragon Palace' pirates, there must be masters who are proficient in naval warfare. They set up this formation just to wait for me to take the bait. We really underestimated the opponent's tactics. It seems that the original internal and external attack method is no longer feasible."

Sima Rulan said: "It was Cao Muyun's decision to attack from both inside and outside. The naval forces in Guangdong made a surprise attack from behind the water stronghold, but it would be better if they fell into the pirates' tricks and were defeated."[

Zhao Xuhai said: "This 'Thousand Scales Water Formation' is a water battle formation used by Japanese bandits in the past. Zhao is too inexperienced. He has only heard about this formation and has never seen it with his own eyes. However, Mr. Shi of Nantou Village in Guangzhou Both Bing Bing and General Lu of Zhaoqing Beijin Village had participated in the naval battle between Luliang Island and the Japanese country, and they would definitely know this formation. They commanded the navy ships to attack from the rear of the formation, even if they were unable to cope with the situation. Loss, falling into the trap will not result in defeat.”

Hua Bushi said: "So, there are actually Japanese among the pirates in the Black Dragon Palace."

Sima Rulan said: "It is said that the Black Dragon King is a Han Chinese, but we don't know whether his pirates are joined by Japanese pirates."

At this time, all the ships in Okura City had turned around and were out of the range of the pirate ship's artillery, and the "Golden Jade" had already anchored on the sea and was no longer moving forward. Several miles ahead of the sea, it was surrounded by Hundreds of "silver scales" illuminate everything brightly, and the formation of pirate ships in the "Black Dragon Palace" water village can also be clearly seen on the "Jinyu".

The "Thousand Scales Water Formation" is like a castle standing on the sea. The tallest ships in the formation are the five giant shark warships that can reach more than four feet of water. Next to them are more than 20 three-dimensional warships. There are tower boats more than ten feet high, followed by medium-sized loach boats and falcon boats, each numbering forty or fifty. Small eagle boats and centipede boats cruise around the outermost edge.

These ships all have their sides facing outward, with rows of cannon holes exposed on their sides. As the ships float and move on the water, the "Thousand Scales Formation" is also slowly rotating.

The staggered arrangement of these stars obviously has a hidden agenda. They are laid out according to the range and firepower of each ship. The entire "Thousand Scales Water Formation" is like a big net. If the opponent's ship approaches, it will be immediately attacked. It was bombarded by all the artillery on dozens of ships, and there were centipede ships and eagle ships that were good at close combat on the outside for protection, even in case of loss.

It is absolutely impossible to approach a large formation like the one opposite and attack by force, especially since Okura Castle's ships lack gunpowder. Only giant crossbows and bows can be used for long-range attacks, and the range is not far. If they rush over by force, I'm afraid Before they even reach the front of the formation, they will all be sunk by the artillery in the opponent's formation.

Hua Bushi said to Zhao Xuhai: "This 'Thousand Scales Water Formation' seems to be really powerful. I wonder if there is a way to break it."

Zhao Xuhai said: "Of course there is a way to break it. During the Chaolu War, the Japanese pirates also set up this formation on the sea. In the end, they were killed by our Ming Dynasty navy. It is said that they want to break this formation. You have to use the 'scaling method'."

Hua Bushi said: "I don't know what this 'scaling method' is."

Zhao Xuhai said: "The so-called scale removal means slowly peeling off the scales of the formation. When all the fish scales are peeled off, the formation will be broken. Master Hua, look at it, there is a navy from Guangdong on the sea over there." Called over."

Following the direction of Mr. Zhao Qian's finger, Hua Bushi looked up and saw that many battleship sails were revealed on the sea on one side of the "Thousand Scales Water Formation". They were the ships of the Ming Navy. Cao Cao The fleet commanded by Mu Yun and Shen Youlong did not charge directly into the "Thousand Scales Water Formation", but turned sideways and bypassed the formation.

The navy's fleet was about three miles away from the formation, just on the edge of the ship's cannon range. While the ships were sailing at full speed, they opened fire with the pirate ships. The fire surged, the cannons rumbled, and the cannons on both sides fell into the water. Rows of water splashing about ten feet high splashed on the sea.

Hua Bushi immediately understood what Zhao Xuhai meant by the "method of cutting off scales".

Just because the defense of the "Thousand Scales Water Formation" is too tight, if you rush directly into the formation, you will not only become the target of dozens of pirate ships' artillery salvoes, but also the artillery on the side of your own ship will not be easy to aim and fire back. It is extremely unfavorable, but a feasible countermeasure is to surround the fleet and continuously attack the pirate ships on the edge of the formation, just like using a steel knife, turning and beveling, and slowly peeling off the fish scales layer by layer. Remove the general.

Hua Bushi nodded and said: "It turns out that this is the 'Scaling Method'. It is indeed a feasible way to break the formation. However, it is not easy to attack one after another from the outside. I am afraid that even if the formation can be broken, a lot of ships will be lost." ."

Zhao Xuhai said: "In such a naval battle, it is inevitable to lose some ships. I think back then, outside of Luliang Island, our Ming Dynasty Navy wiped out more than 300 Japanese ships and killed tens of thousands of Japanese pirates. The crowd is using this kind of tactics."

For hundreds of years, Japanese pirates have been invading villages and towns along the coast and are the great enemy of the Ming Dynasty. The naval battle on Luliang Island was a great victory for the Ming Dynasty navy. At one time, the Japanese navy fleet was completely wiped out. Zhao Xuhai At this time, there was a hint of pride on his face.

But at this time, I only heard someone say: "The 'scaling method' is just a stupid method. There is nothing to be proud of."
Chapter completed!