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On the vast sea, the Qingzhou warships were connected bow to stern, their white sails fluttering in the wind, forming a “T” shape on the sea.
Hu Hai’s warships were coming from north to south. Before the engagement, the two fleets formed a “T” shape, which was the most classic battle formation of the age of sailing warships.
Because this allowed the fleet to unleash 100% of its firepower.
“General, can we begin?” Liu Chen asked.
Yue Yun nodded. He said, “Begin. Resolve these pirates as quickly as possible!”
For him, he had no worries about this battle. In the face of an absolute power disparity, war was merely a one-sided crushing. As long as they weren’t ambushed, they wouldn’t suffer defeat.
“Yes, General!” Liu Chen turned back. He had the flag bearer signal the forward warships.
Small red flags waved in the hands of the signalmen, and then a series of roars sounded. Liu Chen and Yue Yun, standing on the flagship, saw countless black dots flying like lightning towards the distant pirate ships.
Whether it was Japanese warships or Hu Hai’s warships, the navies, still relying on traditional boarding tactics, merely charged forward in a disorganized swarm, with no discernible combat strategy.
Now, Sakai and Hu Hai once again demonstrated their ignorance of naval tactics. At this moment, the first batch of thirty-odd warships charged forward like warriors.
Under the grapeshot fired from hundreds of cannons, instantly, more than ten pirate ships were riddled with holes, and nearly all the crew members on board were killed or wounded.
After the first round of cannon fire, Sakai’s heart pounded uncontrollably. This was a primal fear of death.
Looking at the destroyed warships in the front row, Sakai’s face was like yellow wax, and Hu Hai was so scared that his legs went weak and he directly sat on the ground. The view in front of him suddenly widened, because many of the ships in front of him had completely turned into wooden debris.
The soldiers on the ships screamed in agony. They were either severely wounded by cannonballs or so scared that they jumped into the sea. For a moment, the cries of dying pirates were everywhere. The sea had been dyed red, and the bloody smell quickly attracted the fish in the sea.
“Help, help!” The soldiers in the water cried out in despair, but Hu Hai could only numbly watch his struggling subordinates in the water.
“Quickly send out the second wave of ships.” Sakai suddenly shouted hysterically, then he ordered his warship to retreat.
Hu Hai immediately understood. Sakai didn’t suspect him of being a traitor at all; he just wanted to use his men as human shields to allow him to retreat calmly.
He was enraged, but the Japanese soldier’s sword was at his neck. For his own life, he could only continue to dispatch warships.
However, he overestimated the soldiers’ loyalty. In the face of absolute power, the previously fierce pirates turned into cowards. They maneuvered their warships to escape, and the originally well-ordered fleet quickly fell into chaos, with ships squeezing and colliding into each other.
Yue Yun was not going to let any pirates escape. It would be a failure of his ability if he couldn’t eat the meat delivered to his mouth.
While the Japanese pirates and Hu Hai’s warships were in chaos, the two flanking fleets quickly outflanked the Japanese fleet and also began to use cannon fire.
Caught in a three-sided pincer attack, black grapeshot poured down, and the 200 ships, unable to resist in the chaos, were sunk one by one.
The desperate pirates struggled in the water, trying to grasp any floating debris. If given another chance, they would never again be willing to fight the Qingzhou Navy.
The cannon fire on the sea continued, and Sakai’s and Hu Hai’s warships were not spared. After falling into the water, the two groped around for a while, then climbed onto a large wooden plank.
At this time, there was no longer any friendliness between the two; instead, they glared at each other like sworn enemies. Sakai resented Hu Hai for getting him into this situation, while Hu Hai hated Sakai for sending him to his death.
However, after exchanging glances, the two began to collectively face the other crew members attempting to climb onto the wooden plank.
Looking at the chaotic scene on the sea, Yue Yun’s gaze quickly focused on the two figures, because one of the Japanese-dressed individuals was too conspicuous; that person was Sakai.
“General, Hu Hai is also on it!” Liu Chen pointed to the chaotic area not far away. Many people were fighting over a piece of floating wreckage.
“Heh heh, I wonder where you two can run this time!” Yue Yun suddenly laughed. Ever since defeating Sakai in Ryukyu, Sakai had been attacking merchant ships at sea. Now, he was finally caught in one fell swoop. “Go and capture them now.”
“Yes, General!” Liu Chen commanded the fleet to sail towards the battle zone.
At this time, the naval battle had basically come to an end. The difference between sailing gunships and ordinary warships was once again vividly demonstrated.
With the naval battle over, Yue Yun also relaxed. When the warships reached the target location, they rescued the disheveled Sakai and Hu Hai from the sea.
Liu Chen, leading the soldiers, brought the two before Yue Yun. Giving each of them a kick in the back of the knee, he made them kneel.
Yue Yun nodded, “Return to base, bring them to His Highness.”
Receiving the order, the warships began to head towards the dock. Many warships had escaped during the battle; only more than fifty genuine warships had been sunk.
He sent five warships to pursue them and returned to the dock with the remaining warships.
At this time, Xiao Ming had already emerged from the star fort. From the star fort, he had watched the entire naval battle, which was, overall, very spectacular.
“Your Highness, we have captured Sakai and Hu Hai.” Yue Yun disembarked from the warship and threw the two in front of Xiao Ming. Glancing at Hu Hai, he said, “You are Hu Hai?”
“Yes… yes!” Hu Hai was like a pile of mud at this moment, so scared that he had lost his backbone.
“Do you speak the Japanese language?” Xiao Ming asked again.
“Yes, yes,” Hu Hai said nervously.
Xiao Ming nodded. “Then you will translate my words for me.” He then looked at Sakai and said, “Sakai, Earl Claire asked me to greet you on his behalf when I saw you. He said he would very much like to see you again. I believe I can fulfill his wish this time.”
Xiao Ming said a sentence, and Hu Hai immediately translated it.
Sakai’s eyes filled with deep fear upon hearing this. He shouted, “You can’t hand me over to Claire! He will torture me!”
During the rebellion in Zeelandia, Sakai, with his Japanese mercenaries, killed hundreds of Dutch soldiers. Claire hated him to the core and once said that if Sakai were captured, he would hand him over to him and he would reward him handsomely.
Actually, Xiao Ming had always been concerned about Japan’s movements. He said, “Then it’s simple. Tell me what reason you have that would make me spare you.”
If Sakai had a knife now, he would surely commit suicide, but that was clearly impossible. However, worse than death was torture that made one wish for death. Thinking of the Dutch methods, he said despairingly, “I know the daimyo’s plan to attack Goryeo.”