I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 594 Naval Battle

Chapter 594 Naval Battle

Zou Weilian led the Fujian officials to board the ship hastily. After boarding the "Xiao Lanlan", everyone was stunned. They never expected that there was such a large warship in the world.

Wang Wenzhou carried the baby into the cockpit and looked out the window. He saw at least a thousand warships rushing towards them.

Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and said, "Old Zou, come here. I know some military stuff. I'd like to ask you about the situation."

Zou Weilian quickly led Zheng Zhilong over.

Zheng Zhilong said, "Lord Wang, there is no need to panic. My younger brother has already led men to meet the enemy."

Wang Wenzhou looked in the direction Zheng Zhilong pointed, and sure enough, over a hundred warships rushed out of the harbor. These warships were similar to those of pirates, all being small boats.

Wang Wenzhou asked, "How many cannons are on each of these warships?"

Zheng Zhilong replied, "Your Excellency, large Fujian ships have about 30 cannons, medium-sized Fujian ships have about 20, and small Fujian ships have about 10."

Wang Wenzhou curled his lip and said disdainfully, "These little lousy ships dare to challenge my fleet? Today I'm going to unleash a massacre! Men, pass on my orders: the fleet, follow the flagship, and attack!"

"Yes, sir!" Fu Xingping quickly gave the order.

Upon seeing the flagship's flag, the fleet's warships immediately adjusted their formation and followed behind the flagship, Xiao Lanlan, slowly sailing out of the port.

Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, then said passionately, "Our goal is the stars and the sea! Let's attack, Pikachu!"

Chen Yuanyuan shook her head with a wry smile; her nemesis was up to his old tricks again.

Wang Wenzhou patted Li Mei's butt and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, go get some wine. I'm going to drink and kill Hua Xiong! Damn it, the Dutch fleet dares to act tough and hold the line behind us. I'll head straight for them and take them down!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's expression changed. This Lord Wang was a mad dog; he didn't understand any naval warfare tactics at all and was simply giving blind orders!

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment and then cautiously reminded him, "My lord, you mustn't! Naval warfare is not the same as land warfare. If we are surrounded, no matter how powerful our warships are, we cannot withstand the wolf pack tactics."

Wang Wenzhou said disdainfully, "What the hell do you know? My warships are all high-tech. I'll show you later what's so scary about these little broken ships?"

Zheng Zhilong wanted to offer some advice, but Zou Weilian secretly nudged him and whispered, "Don't try to persuade him. Once the mad dog suffers the consequences, he'll know who the good guys are. If you try to persuade him now, you might end up in trouble."

Zheng Zhilong thought about it and agreed, and quickly said, "If anything happens later, please ask Lord Zou to persuade Lord Wang to hand over command of the fleet to me. With my younger brother helping us, we will surely be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."

Zou Weilian nodded and said, "Don't worry, even Mad Dog Wang Wenzhou is afraid of death."

Wang Wenzhou's fleet headed straight for the Dutch fleet behind them. The Dutch had a total of more than 30 warships. Apart from their flagship, which could barely be considered a second-class battleship, the other warships were all second-class battleships with two decks, each with more than 50 cannons.

Wang Wenzhou's fleet consisted of three first-class battleships and 15 "Sea Serpent"-class medium battleships, all equivalent to second-class battleships. Confident in the superiority of his fleet, Wang Wenzhou planned a decapitation strike: to annihilate the Dutch fleet and then deal with the pirates allied with the Dutch.

Fu Xingping put down his binoculars and reported, "Sir, there are enemy warships blocking our way ahead."

Wang Wenzhou curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Full speed ahead. With our warships, we can easily ram and capsize their little wrecked boats."

"Yes!" Fu Xingping immediately relayed the order.

The Little Lanlan, along with the Weiwei and Minmin, three first-class battleships, lined up side by side at the front, forming the arrowhead of the fleet, and directly rammed into the pirate fleet. The pirate warships that blocked their way were either blown up by powerful cannons or smashed to pieces by the enormous impact.

Wang Wenzhou curled his lip, turned to look at Zheng Zhilong, and said smugly, "See? In the face of advanced technology, these little broken ships are all trash!"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head with a wry smile. "Mad dog, mad dog, you won't be so cocky later!"

Sure enough, Wang Wenzhou's smugness didn't last long. Suddenly, the pirate fleet changed formation, and the warships blocking Wang Wenzhou's fleet's path all began to retreat to the sides.

Seeing the situation was bad, Zheng Zhilong quickly said, "Lord Wang, we can't go any further. The enemy has already opened their trap and is just waiting for us to walk in."

Wang Wenzhou took a sip of wine from Li Mei's mouth and cursed, "Shut up, what are you afraid of? People die in wars. The brave win when paths cross. How can you win if you cower in fear? If you keep disrupting morale, I'll castrate you!"

Zou Weilian quickly patted Zheng Zhilong on the shoulder and advised, "Don't say anything! Wait a while!"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head with a wry smile. "Truly, an incompetent general can cause the death of the entire army!"

At this moment, Wang Wenzhou's fleet had already rushed into the pirates' trap.

At some point, hundreds of fast boats resembling dragon boats sped towards Wang Wenzhou's fleet.

Wang Wenzhou calmly ordered, "Order all cannons in the fleet to fire freely. Those dilapidated little ships want to get close? Dream on!"

At Wang Wenzhou's command, the cannons on both sides of the fleet opened fire. Pirate warships were continuously smashed to pieces by cannonballs.

Despite this, the number of small pirate warships did not decrease; on the contrary, it increased.

Wang Wenzhou's fleet consisted entirely of sailing warships, which could only reach a maximum speed of ten knots in strong winds, while these dragon boat-like warships could reach a top speed of around 15 knots when charging. Moreover, the wind was not strong now, so Wang Wenzhou's fleet was only traveling at 3 or 4 knots.

In no time, the pirate warships surrounded them.

The Little Lanlan had three decks of gun emplacements, but due to the angle of fire, the pirate ships couldn't hit it even if they fired when they got close. Soon enough, the pirates began climbing onto the Little Lanlan.

Wang Wenzhou was stunned when he saw this, and immediately ordered, "Pass on my order: retreat immediately!"

"Yes!" Fu Xingping immediately relayed the order.

Led by the Little Lanlan, the fleet turned to flee, but it was too slow. The pirate warships surrounded the fleet, and the pirates, each one incredibly brave, climbed onto the warships with knives in their mouths as if their lives depended on it.

Wang Wenzhou's troops were currently on three transport ships, which were docked in port and not accompanying the fleet. At this time, each warship in the fleet had few combat personnel, and Wang Wenzhou, confident in the advanced nature of his warships, had not assigned any combat personnel to them either.

Wang Wenzhou was terrified and immediately ordered, "Everyone, take up your weapons! Do not let the pirates board the ship! Order the other warships to cover the flagship's retreat!"

At this moment, the Dutch fleet, seeing that Wang Wenzhou's fleet was surrounded, quickly sailed towards them.

Zheng Zhilong hurriedly said, "Lord Wang, quickly signal to my younger brother that he should do everything in his power to help the fleet break through the encirclement."

"Yes!" Wang Wenzhou quickly asked, "Who are you?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head with a wry smile. He was just a nobody in front of Lord Wang. Wang Wenzhou still didn't know his name. But after this battle, Lord Wang would definitely remember him. As long as he could get on Lord Wang's good side, his rise to prominence would be just around the corner.

Zou Weilian quickly said, "Lord Wang, this is Zheng Zhilong, the Assistant Commander-in-Chief."

"Yo-shi!" Wang Wenzhou nodded. "Zheng Zhilong is Zheng Chenggong's father! What a talent!"

Wang Wenzhou quickly asked, "Old Zheng, how old is your son?"