After receiving Zheng Chenggong's order, Zheng Tai immediately took the Kinmen Navy to attack.

When Zheng Tai's troops appeared in the sea between Kinmen and Xiamen, a large number of Qing warships fleeing east appeared in front of him. Although Zheng Tai owned one hundred warships, it was impossible to completely cut off such a wide strait.

The Qing fleet opposite had no formation, nor did it show the intention of fighting with the Ming army. The ships were full of sails and rushed towards Zheng Tai's army in fear. Obviously, the enemy would try to pass through the gaps of the Ming army ships and escape back to Quanzhou Port as fast as possible.

"A prodigal son." After seeing the movements of the Qing army, Zheng Tai couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

In land warfare, the failed side threw down the auxiliary soldiers and ran away. Of course, compared with armor and weapons, experienced veterans are more precious. If the army loses a large number of veterans, although the losses are large, they can still be expected to be compensated in one year. As long as sufficient military pay and sufficient training funds can be provided, farmers can also become armored soldiers. If the investment is large enough and the training intensity is high enough, they may get new recruits who can go to the battlefield in a few months.

But the navy is completely different. The material used to make ships is wood with dry wood. This process of drying alone lasts for three years. Under normal circumstances, ship owners will not store too much materials, and will only store ship materials based on normal sales channels and their own manufacturing capabilities. In addition to these privately owned shipbuilding materials, the government will also purchase some good wood every year to store them. However, the quantity is also limited, and many materials are prepared for the production of canal and fishing boats, and are not suitable for making warships. If the government forces the production of warships, in addition to the worrying quality, it will also lead to deterioration of various industries that rely on ship manufacturing.

In addition to materials, more importantly, there are shipbuilding craftsmen, and there may be many craftsmen who can design and manufacture fishing boats and canal boats, but there are few and few who are competent for the manufacturing of warships. It will take many years for a warship to start preparing materials, to be built, launched into the water for trial sailing, and finally form combat effectiveness. In other words, if the Qing army suffers heavy losses and wants to reorganize the navy in the future, even if the order is issued immediately and the funds are immediately allocated to purchase wood, it will take several years to obtain a batch of ships.

Zheng Tai fought against the enemy at sea all his life, including pirates and red-haired men, but he had never seen an opponent who wasted such a ship before. Even the pirates in the Fujian and Guangdong waters would strive to protect their companions and would never leave the ship unless they had to, because they knew that the ship was precious and difficult to obtain.

Unlike land warfare, it is not difficult to gain the upper hand, but it is much more difficult to annihilate, sink, and capture enemy ships at a disadvantage. The special nature of naval warfare causes the disadvantaged side to often choose to hold together, fight to the end, and then escape at night; the advantageous side will not attempt to wipe out the opponent, but will be satisfied with capturing some enemy ships. Because even the most experienced sailors cannot accurately predict ocean currents and sea breezes. A wrong judgment on the hydrological reefs during night sailing, or a sudden storm, can make the winner become the defeated side in the blink of an eye.

Zheng Tai looked at the Qing army fleet opposite, and asked himself that if he was the commander of the other party, he would definitely carry the fleet into a group to resist. Although the Ming army had many outstanding sailors, the ones gathered in Quanzhou were the best ships under the control of the Qing court, and were driven by the best sailors from each province, and their level was not much different from that of the Ming army.

"Even now, even if there are only one hundred ships left, you should hold a group to defend the enemy ships." Zheng Tai looked at the enemy ships scattered around the Qing army's flagship. Even if only these ships were left, they could form formations to resist. Before dark, the Ming army could almost never chew off more than 100 warships supporting each other. It would be great to be able to capture half of them. At that time, breaking through was obviously much better than running around now: "Only by surrounding together, more ships can get the chance to escape. It would be fine if Dasu didn't understand such a simple principle of water war. Did Shi Lang and Huang Wu not understand? Is there no one in the elite sailors in the five provinces who understand water war?"

But it seems that no one understands it. The Qing army rushed to flee, and the Ming army was chasing behind it. Every once in a while, they would see that the sails of several Qing army ships were seriously damaged. If the Ming army encountered such injuries, they would withdraw from the pursuit sequence and participate in the battle to kill the Qing army ships behind them. If the Qing army ships suffered such misfortune, they would be ruthlessly abandoned by their companions. As long as the Ming army ships were chasing by their side, they would completely vanish all their chances of escape.

"Fight these ships and capture Dasu alive, Huang Wu!" Since it was impossible to stop them all, Zheng Tai pointed to the ships that looked like the Qing army's flagship and issued an order - even if the naval battle was defeated, there was no need to pull away the flags on the flagship, because the chasing enemy was unlikely to run faster than the flagship, and the flagship could continue to command the battle while running. But today Dasu, Huang Wu and the others did it very simply and could not even see the flags. Zheng Tai could only choose the ships that looked more suspicious as their targets.

...

Opposite Zheng Tai, Huang Wu was personally steering the sail, using the wind on the sea to the greatest extent, and at the same time, he could calmly observe the Ming army intercepting the fleet in front of him, looking for the safest breakthrough. Although Huang Wu admitted that he was not Zheng Chenggong's opponent, when it comes to driving the sails, Huang Wu, an old sailor, still had absolute confidence than Zheng Jiansheng who became a monk halfway through. After all, Huang Wu once made a living by this, and Zheng Jiansheng dropped out of the Imperial College and joined the army, he had been sitting on the boat without taking the helm.

Huang Wu used to be a pirate and also used as an officer and soldier to wipe out pirates. He saw pirates fighting to the last moment of his life more than once to defend his ship. This is actually not surprising at all. Even if he jumps into the sea to escape, he can escape a way out, but if he loses the ship, how can he become a pirate? Therefore, many pirates will fight bloody battles with the officers and soldiers with the idea of ​​living and dying with the ship to the end.

The situation in the navy is better. Because there is a chance to get ship replenishment from the boss, the generals may cherish the ships as much as pirates. Even so, ships are still the most important equipment for the generals. Just like when Huang Wu was under Zheng Chenggong, the soldiers could train another batch in a few months after the loss of the soldiers; if the armor and weapons are lost, Zheng Chenggong will be allocated again soon; but the ships are too rare, Zheng Chenggong cannot add many warships every year, and most of the seized warships belong to the generals who seized it, and only a small part is handed over to the Prince of Yanping. When the distribution is made, countless pairs of eyes are staring at them, and the generals boast about their achievements and quarrel. It is not a strange thing to fight against Yanping County Prince for a warship. The navy generals cherish these equipment very much. The ships are the foundation for their lives and the capital to make achievements.

However, for Huang Wu today, none of the 400 warships handed over to him to command had a close relationship with him, and none of them was his subordinates and property. Most of the officers on the ship Huang Wu did not know each other, and they could not talk about friendship or relationship. It was less than two months since they met. The same was true for those officers. They were very clear about those officers. If the Qing army won, it would not be Huang Wu who would distribute the merits, but Da Su. Huang Wu could only play some suggestions. Therefore, it is useful to be brave and invincible in front of Huang Wu, but the effect would be reduced; and if he was not particularly hardworking, Huang Wu did not have the right to punish him, and at most he could only suggest that Da Su should punish him. If the situation of the Qing army was unfavorable, these generals would not have to expect Huang Wu, who had no feelings for them, to save them to the death - they were not wrong.

Since the commander and the generals below know this well, everyone should run to see when the defeat is revealed. The story Deng Ming told Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng also applies to Huang Wu and other people. Now you can run, but it is not the key to run away from the Zheng army. The key is to outperform the companions - the companions behind will naturally help you block the shells and delay the pursuit of the Zheng army.

For Huang Wu, only one person is the key, that is, Dasu. If Dasu is captured by Zheng Chenggong, the court might vent his anger on him, so he must protect Dasu no matter what. Huang Wu also knew that Dasu was the emperor's confidant and Oboi's friend. The backstage was very tough. As long as Dasu was willing to nod, Huang Wu's life would naturally be worry-free. For Dasu, Huang Wu would not be useless, because Huang Wu could prove to the court as a naval war expert that this defeat was entirely because the combat effectiveness of the five provinces' naval divisions was too poor, and it had nothing to do with Dasu's reckless battle. Although Dasu ignored the hasty gathering of the navy and was still unfamiliar with each other, he insisted on going to fight. Many generals Huang Wu could not even call out their names, but had to command them to fight with Zheng Chenggong. But as long as Huang Wu didn't say it, how could the court know?

As for the one who tried hard to persuade Dasu to fight, it was not Huang Wu, but Shi Lang. Therefore, even if Dasu shirked responsibility, Shi Lang would have to bear most of the blame. Of course, Huang Wu estimated that Dasu would not push Shi Lang to death, because Shi Lang was also an expert in naval warfare and could prove to the court with Huang Wu that it was not that Dasu was incompetent, but that the combat effectiveness of the navy officers and soldiers was too bad. I am afraid that the navy in various provinces would have paid their military expenses for nothing.

Therefore, after rushing to the southeast of Xiamen to join Dasu, Huang Wu took the same boat with Dasu and personally sailed the boat. Hundreds of warships, tens of thousands of sailors and tens of thousands of soldiers were the emperor's ships. If the emperor's soldiers were lost, they would be lost, but General Dasu would never be lost.

As for Huang Wu's command today, of course there is something worth discussing. If Huang Wu did not turn around and flee but calmly responded to the battle, the Qing army's navy might not have fallen into chaos so quickly - as long as he was an experienced sailor, the court would definitely not know, because the court could only know what Dasu told them that there was only one reason for his defeat, that is, the navy in various provinces was trained too badly.

In front of the sails of Dasu's ship, Huang Wu threw the flag into the sea without saying a word. Seeing everyone taking the sport of running away, he could not order the surrounding warships to protect himself even if he was shaken off the flagpole. Since that is the case, what's the use of using the flag to attract hatred from the Ming army?

The distance between the Ming army fleet was getting closer and closer, but Huang Wu's expression seemed to be easier. He had planned a complete breakout route. With his confidence in his extraordinary skills, Huang Wu knew that he would definitely be able to protect Dasu from the sky. He thought in his mind that Shi Lang didn't know whether he could escape, so it shouldn't be a big problem. If he didn't escape, he would have a witness missing when reporting to the court, and maybe Huang Wu would have to take responsibility. Huang Wu thought that Shi Lang would probably be idle in the end, after all, he advocated a quick battle. If Shi Lang didn't run away and the court would finally let Huang Wu idle in the end, it would be really unfair.

...

When Dasu's fleet was defeated, Shi Langzheng commanded his fleet to cover the Qing army's landing in the east of Xiamen.

Shi Lang's full line test finally allowed him to find some weak links of the Ming army. After more than 10,000 Green Camp infantry landed, more than 1,000 Eight Banners and 3,000 Green Camp cavalry were also sent to the shore of Shanghai by Shi Lang. These cavalry could quickly complete the assembly and then try to break into the hinterland of Xiamen.

At this time, Shi Lang saw the great defeat of the friendly southern fleet.

"Retreat immediately." The navy on his side was not weaker than his opponent, but he escaped in scattered ways and could not even see the flagship. Although Shi Lang had never seen such a scene, he could guess the outcome of the Qing army navy without thinking too much.

"Don't worry about the horses..." After Shi Lang issued the retreat order, he saw the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade leading their war horses back to the landing site. He said anxiously: "Leave all the horses on the shore and withdraw everyone."

But Shi Lang's request was resisted by the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade, and soon the news was sent back from the small boat fleet that picked up and dropped off the personnel. The officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade made it clear that they would not abandon the war horses because they would save them from walking because they had mounts. Some of the mounts were carefully transported from Beijing and had deep feelings for the owner.

"So that's it. The love for horses is really touching." Shi Lang suddenly changed his expression, quickly canceled the original order, and instead replaced it with alternate cover, in order to prevent the Ming army from coming out, he must transport every horse of the Manchu soldiers onto the ship.

As Shi Lang was worried, after the Ming army discovered that the war situation on the sea was reversed, they immediately launched a counterattack, trying to hold back more Qing troops and prevent them from leaving safely.

According to Shi Lang's estimate, it will take some time for the Ming army to annihilate the troops left by Dasu on the south bank, and then Zheng Chenggong's main force can be transferred to his own battlefield. For Shi Lang's troops, the most threatening force is the Ming army's navy. If he does not retreat in time, he may be annihilated into the sea by the Ming army's navy.

Shi Lang checked the battlefield and thought that he still had some time to retreat 10,000 soldiers onto the ship, or at least eight thousand people... or all the Manchu Taijun and their war horses.

"Whoever dares to leave his post without mercy is killed!" Shi Lang issued an order with murderous intent. The Green Camp must maintain the front with the greatest efforts and ensure that the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade can board the ship calmly; if any Green Camp soldier swims and flees, the Qing Navy will shoot these deserters to death in the water, and must not tolerate such escape behavior. In order to further convince the Green Camp soldiers to resist with all their might, Shi Lang also ordered the warship to approach the coast at the risk of stranding, and shout to the Green Camp soldiers on the shore, telling them that if they dare to retreat, they would be bombarded.

"Have all the Manchurian soldiers boarded the ship?" The Ming army warship was coming from the south. Shi Lang asked anxiously. After receiving a positive answer from his subordinates, Shi Lang was still worried: "Pick the name again, you must ensure that everything is foolproof. These are all the emperor's slaves. We must not leave one on the shore."

With his eyes swept to the shore, Shi Lang pointed to some war horses and asked, "Are those horses that are sure aren't Manchurian soldiers?"

"No," replied his subordinates, "The horses of the Manchurian soldiers have been shipped on board, and these may be all the horses of the Green Camp."

"What does it mean and what is possible?" Shi Lang said dissatisfiedly: "It is of great importance, how can you be vague? Check it again, no horse of the Manchu soldiers can be left to the thief."

"Affect the order."

The Ming army's navy was getting closer and closer, Shi Lang frowned and was focused on waiting for the news of the last review.

The boat on the shore sent a message, confirming that there was no Taijun or their war horses had been forgotten on land.

"Let the anchor and set off." Shi Lang said without hesitation.

"But..." A personal soldier pointed at the boats still on the shore, including the envoys who Shi Lang had just sent for a review.

"But what? How can we put Manchu soldiers in danger?" Under Shi Lang's supervision, more than 100 warships around him quickly began to sail out of Xiamen.

"Always head north!" Shi Lang then gave the second order. Once again, his personal soldiers did not send the order immediately, but instead showed a puzzled look, wanting to confirm again.

Now that the Ming army has not caught up with Shi Lang, Zheng Tai is intercepting Huang Wu. Huang Wu's fleet is in danger and may suffer considerable losses, but most of Shi Lang's hundreds of ships can still escape back to Quanzhou safely.

"Looking north! Didn't you hear it?" Shi Lang saw that his personal soldiers were still hesitating, and couldn't help but shout. In order to load the ship as soon as possible, almost all the warships accepted the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade and their war horses, so any ship being intercepted would cause losses to the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade.

Under the current situation, only by heading north can we avoid the main force of the Ming army. The Zheng family navy arrived in front of us and sent the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade to the mainland safely.

The mainland is getting closer and closer, while the Ming army in the southwest is chasing behind the scenes.

"Don't go to Tong'an," Shi Lang pointed to a coast and shouted: "Walk there, there is a beach under the water, there are no reefs, so you can strand the beach."

Although escaping to Tong'an may allow more ships to escape temporarily - it is only temporary, it is still hard to say whether they can successfully cross the Zheng army's blockade line and escape back to Quanzhou, but after all, they are not annihilated immediately - but Shi Lang is worried that during this period of time, the ship will be caught by the Ming army, and the Taijun on the ship may have to sacrifice his life for the Qing Dynasty, so Shi Lang made a quick decision and chose to give up the ship.

If someone else is changed, you may not be able to find a suitable location to rush to the beach. Fortunately, Shi Lang is very familiar with the waters around Xiamen, and it is easy to find a place without reefs to actively strand.

Under Shi Lang's command, the Qing army's warships rushed to the coast one after another.

The Ming army, who was chasing after him, dared not approach the near shore that might have caused stranding, and just cruised in the distance, firing artillery and firing arrows at the Qing army.

When the first ship rushed to the shore, Shi Lang hurriedly ran down to maintain order. Faced with the rumbling sound of cannons, Shi Lang remained calm in the front line and kept on the front line, ordering all the Green Camp soldiers to continue to stay in the stranded warships, and make way for Taijun and their mounts: "Brothers, don't panic, don't get off the boat, let the Manchu soldiers go first!"
Chapter completed!