The next day, returning to Hulu Mountain Water Village in Hangzhou Bay, it was already evening.
The sky was overcast.
Yu Dayou had already assigned many firearm units to ten ships. The Fuchuan ships were equipped with four cannons and thirty firearms, forming the first unit. The second unit comprised archers, supporting the firearm soldiers, and the third unit was shield soldiers, covering the firearm and archer units. The second type of ship, the Haicang ship, was slightly smaller, equipped with two cannons and twenty firearm soldiers. The third type of ship, the Xiaocang, had one cannon and ten firearm soldiers.
Two Fuchuan ships, six Haicang ships, and fifteen Xiaocang ships formed the elite sailing fleet. The remaining over eight hundred firearm soldiers were all equipped on sixty Xiaocang ships and twenty Haicang ships, totaling one hundred and three ships equipped with firearms. The rest were miscellaneous and logistical ships, all dispatched with the army.
This time,
Zhao Shizhen brought ample ammunition, and more was expected to arrive successively. Thus, Yu Dayou was quite generous with its use, practicing with live ammunition all day.
He personally commanded the Fuchuan ships. Fishing boat targets were scattered throughout the bay, and he directed the artillery to bombard them repeatedly. He also had the firearm ships move in for closer firing. Zhu Mo, on shore, witnessed cannonballs flying, warships bombarding in rotation, all orderly and swift. It was indeed more difficult to fight at sea.
Fortunately, all the commanders on the ships were personally trained by Yu Dayou and were adept at understanding tactical intentions, executing them flawlessly.
Zhu Mo observed most of the exercises and felt that this was indeed a matter of fate. His firearms combined with Yu Dayou's forces could form a barely usable navy. Otherwise, the situation would have been truly unpredictable.
As for the future, this small navy was quite laughable. Not only was the variety of ships too limited, but it also lacked the concept of firearm combat. The navy to be built in the future would certainly be organized based on firearm ratios, long-distance sailing capabilities, and combat training. Only then would it be possible to retake Malacca and then land in southern Myanmar to flank Mang Yinglong.
However, this prospect was still several years away. After all, if they won this battle, there would need to be an unprecedented purge of the Yan faction, and various reforms implemented nationwide. Once this most difficult obstacle was overcome, they would have the capacity to deal with external threats.
…
While watching and thinking,
The exercises soon concluded. They were largely successful in achieving their objectives, but Yu Dayou was unsatisfied and reprimanded all the commanders.
Zhu Mo, however, was very pleased. After all, this was the first time China had applied superior firearms to warships. Various problems were inevitable, but based on combat experience, with sufficient surprise and novelty, the Japanese pirates would most likely be defeated.
Seeing that the soldiers were quite fatigued, he advised, "General Yu, let everyone rest... The Japanese pirates are coming, and everyone needs to be well-rested!"
Yu Dayou nodded and said,
"Scholar Zhu, you understand best. Sea battles are indeed different from land battles. Before a major engagement on land, soldiers should not be too full and rested but rather slightly hungry. But sea battles are different; they consume a lot of physical strength. Look at those cannons; they are moved from the port side to the starboard side, which is very strenuous. Therefore, naval soldiers must be well-fed, well-rested, and sleep well, otherwise, the battle cannot be fought..."
He turned to the more than twenty commanders and said sternly, "Scholar Zhu is present today, so you are fortunate and will not be punished. Take everyone to get information... Chen Lin, you must pay attention to the patrols outside the village!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
…
Everyone withdrew.
Zhu Mo then summoned Zheng Qin, and the three of them sat together in the main tent.
By then, it had gotten dark. Under the overcast sky, a cold wind chilled one to the bone. A brazier glowed red, giving a sense of disorientation, as if one didn't know which era they were in. Looking at Zheng Qin's young yet weathered and tired expression, and recalling how loyal he had been from Xuanda onwards, Zhu Mo felt a pang of sorrow.
He poked the embers with a small wooden stick and said leisurely,
"When the Japanese pirates land, we must meet them head-on. At that time, the brothers will have to drag the cannons to fight. After fighting, when the Japanese pirates take to the sea, we will have to return to the ships to pursue them. It is truly very arduous... Zheng Qin, you have been with me for more than half a year and have endured much hardship. With the major battle imminent, speak your mind..."
Zheng Qin pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled,
"Scholar Zhu, I, Zheng Qin, am truly fortunate to lead the first elite force of the Great Ming! If not for Scholar Zhu, I, Zheng Qin, would merely be an obscure soldier of the Beijing Garrison...
As for future prospects, we should not think about them. But I can tell you, Scholar Zhu, that the brothers feel the same as I do! Just look at last time when we fought Alda in Datong; everyone felt exhilarated! Furthermore, the reforms by Scholar Zhu are for the benefit of the people, and soldiers are all people. We understand the weight of this clearly! Although everyone has been a bit tired these past few days, morale is very high. Scholar Zhu can rest assured!"
Yu Dayou nodded and said, "Yes, Scholar Zhu, you don't know, but we soldiers truly think this way. Your firearms are so powerful that the brothers are no longer afraid..."
Zheng Qin had always admired Yu Dayou, and being fellow Fujianese, he said happily, "General Yu, I, Zheng Qin, am also immensely honored to fight the Japanese pirates alongside you!"
Yu Dayou patted his shoulder gently and thought: We are all soldiers. Your luck is much better than mine. With such formidable firearms, how can you possibly suffer defeat? Moreover, my nephew is very kind-hearted. If you follow him, where will you find any hardship?
Thinking this, he couldn't help but sigh—
This nephew truly resembles his mother in personality. He is good at heart, but also very intelligent and cunning, and holds grudges. It's just strange where he learned all these skills after living among the common people for so many years.
Originally, he was unsure about the outcome of this battle, but after two days of training, having personally witnessed the firing rate and accuracy of the cannons, as well as the reloading speed of those firearms, he was deeply shaken. Based on his experience, he knew that even a Portuguese fleet would not gain any advantage. Only then did his heart finally settle.
At this moment,
He looked at his nephew, and a surge of affection he could not express welled up. He sighed,
"Scholar Zhu, sea battles are very strenuous and unpredictable. People who are not accustomed to the water cannot last a day on a ship without losing their strength... Your subordinate believes that Scholar Zhu should still be in charge of the land battles, and Zheng Qin and I will go to sea to fight..."
But Zhu Mo smiled and said,
"How can I be absent from such a sea battle? General Yu, rest assured, I can endure hardship!"
Having said that,
Zhu Mo, holding the candlelight, personally wrote two letters. One to Hu Zongxian and another to Qi Jiguang, informing them that preparations for naval and land operations were complete. The first is to intercept the landing Japanese pirates in the Pinghu and Fengjing areas, and the second is to engage in naval combat with the Japanese pirates among the Zhoushan Islands. He requested their cooperation if possible. It would be best for Qi Jiguang to move further south and await orders in the Qingpu area to form a pincer attack. If it were difficult, then preserving strength should be the priority, as Qi Jiguang would be the main target of the Japanese pirates, and so on.
The reason he expressed himself so tactfully, without using authoritative language, was due to the complex situation at the time.