Chapter 3530
Chapter 3530
Chapter 3530
Although the two armies were fighting fiercely in the strait, Yue Shizong watched it without any ripples in his heart, as if he was completely unaffected by the current battle situation.
It was not that he was calm, but that such a battle situation was unlikely to occur on the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Now the Ming Dynasty had lost its coastline, and the outlets of all major rivers were blocked by Hai Han, making it impossible for it to participate in a naval battle.
Regardless of who wins or loses this war, Yue Shizong can only watch the fun. He knows that as an inland country, the Ming Dynasty today is no longer qualified to discuss naval battles.
Geng Jimao, who represented the Qing Dynasty, had a similar mentality. However, unlike Yue Shizong, Geng Jimao could not help but feel jealous when he saw the armed fleets of both sides of the conflict.
In the early years, Geng Zhongming, Kong Youde, and Shang Kexi, who rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, won the favor of the Qing Dynasty by controlling the navy. But now, although the Qing navy still exists in name, it has actually become a hollow office and there is no corresponding troop establishment at all.
Even Korea, which was easily controlled in the past, now has a maritime armed force that the Qing Dynasty did not have. The scale of the escort fleet accompanying the King of Korea on this visit alone is far beyond the reach of the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, there are also people who are not optimistic about the armed fleets owned by both sides of the conflict. Sukey, who came to watch the battle on behalf of the Netherlands, is one of them.
Su Keyi looked at the battlefield in the distance and sighed: "The Japanese think that having a strong navy is the way to become a strong country, and they desperately spend money on building an armed fleet, but they don't know that this is actually a way to die!"
Su Yongshan beside him asked in confusion: "Father, where did you get this from? Isn't it a good thing to have a strong armed force?"
Su Keyi said: "That depends on where the power comes from and why it comes from. Let me ask you, did they develop these warships equipped with artillery themselves?"
Su Yongshan shook his head and said, "From the appearance of this ship, I can see that it is of the same model as Hai Han's warships. I guess they were all purchased from Hai Han."
Su Keyi nodded and said, “Then tell me, why did Hai Han sell so many warships to them? Was it really just to make money from the arms trade?”
Su Yongshan understood somewhat what his father meant: "Hai Han is selling arms to both sides of the conflict at the same time, of course not to persuade them to make peace or promote talks. They will fight because they have a large number of advanced weapons and equipment and think they have won the civil war with their strength."
Su Keyi said, “When they have sharp weapons, they naturally have murderous intentions. If they had not purchased so many weapons and equipment from Hai Han, perhaps the war would not have started so soon. Of course, if they could not fight, Hai Han would not have organized this cross-border inspection.”
Su Yongshan said, “So, Hai Han brought us here to watch the battle, not only to show the combat performance of its weapons and equipment, but also to take this opportunity to warn other countries?”
Su Yongshan sighed, "I think one of Hai Han's goals is to make other countries realize that it is easy for Hai Han to manipulate a country into war. Look at the two warring parties in Japan. Not only do they not dare to complain about Hai Han's instigation of civil war, but they also worship it as a bodhisattva to prevent Hai Han from completely joining the opponent's camp."
“As for the weapons and equipment and armed fleets they possess, they seem to have strengthened their military strength, but in fact they can only be used in civil wars and cannot pose a threat to the outside world. The army that has been armed with a lot of money is just a pawn in this chess game.” Perhaps because he was born into the Han Chinese family and worked for a colonial power, Su Keyi could understand Hai Han’s thinking to some extent. If the Dutch East India Company were to handle this matter, it would probably take similar measures.
However, he believed that Hai Han's motive for doing so was to weaken Japan and then further exert control over it. However, he never imagined that Hai Han's Executive Committee's decision was not in that direction and that it also had longer-term plans for the future situation in Japan.
As time went by, the sky gradually darkened. Although the shogunate army had opened a gap on the Kyushu coast and was continuously sending troops there, the operation to attack the highland artillery had not made significant progress.
After the two sides fought for several hours in the mountains and forests, the shogunate army, which lacked cover and heavy weapons, suffered significantly more casualties than their opponents. The troops that crossed the sea first were almost all elite troops of the Tokugawa clique, which made Tokugawa Ietsugu, who was in charge of the rear, very distressed.
The losses at sea were equally huge. In this first confrontation, the Shogunate army had already damaged and sunk 17 warships of various types, including some high-end Hai Han-made warships.
However, compared with the stagnation of the landing battle, the naval battle at least achieved some visible results. Many ships of the Kyushu Allied Fleet were also destroyed in the strait, which made Tokugawa Ietsuga feel a little comforted.
Judging from the situation of the coalition fleet, the number of Hai Han warships it possessed was not greater than that of the shogunate army, nor did it have the "majestic-class" warships that Tokugawa Ietsugu was worried about before the war. In this way, if it was a pure battle of attrition, the shogunate, with its richer resources, would obviously have the advantage.
Warships are different from individual weapons. Not only does they have a long construction period, but they are also slow to be deployed. After they are put into service, they cannot be deployed on the battlefield immediately like individual weapons. Even if experienced sailors take over the ships, they still need a certain period of adjustment before they can form combat effectiveness.
Once a large number of warships are lost in a battle, such weakening will be difficult to recover in the short term.
By the time both sides have finished fighting with their warships and civilian ships, the shogunate should have a greater advantage - at least that's what Tokugawa Ietsuga currently thinks.
As the sky gradually darkened, the number of ships on both sides gradually decreased, and the intensity of the battle at sea gradually decreased. However, the expedition team, who had been watching for half a day, was still very interested. Many people did not even leave the deck for dinner, but just ate something to get by, for fear of missing the exciting scene.
But neither side seemed interested in fighting at night. After all, with reduced visibility, fighting in such a narrow strait was too risky and might result in unnecessary losses.
Although the Kyushu coalition forces knew that the shogunate would certainly continue to send troops to their coast under the cover of night, they did not plan to intercept them in the dark all night.
In order to ensure the safety of the artillery batteries and fortifications on the hills near the sea, a large number of garrisons were added after nightfall, replacing the troops that had fought during the day to rest and recuperate, while also preventing the shogunate army from launching night attacks.
The headquarters of the Kyushu Allied Forces is located about five or six miles south of the narrowest part of the strait, very close to the current land battle line.
The lords of the five major fiefdoms were all present, together reviewing today's combat results and losses. Of course, Hai Han people were indispensable at such occasions, and Yan Chujie, who was sitting at the head, was here on behalf of the Executive Committee.