Chapter 3602
Although the conditions of the east and west routes are slightly different, for Li Zhencheng, they are actually completely unfamiliar sea areas. Whether they are safe or not is only the opinion of the Luzon Combat Command and has only reference value.
Li Zhencheng's idea was very simple, just choose the one with a shorter flight distance. By embarking on the return journey as early as possible, we still have the opportunity to enter the war zone and catch some small fish and shrimps that have slipped through the net. If we were delayed on the road for a long time, the Fujian fleet might all miss it.
Although there are still many areas on the eastern front that have not been completely cleared, the advantage is that the voyage is shorter. Li Zhencheng believes that the Taiwan fleet is also quite powerful. If he encounters the Spaniards on the way, he will not be able to hunt rabbits with his hands. It will delay business.
Of course, you can despise your opponents strategically, but you cannot despise your opponents tactically. After deciding to take the eastern front, Li Zhencheng summoned many of his combat staff and sat around the sea chart with several officers sent by the Luzon Combat Command. Before proceeding, make specific navigation plans and emergency arrangements.
Li Zhencheng was so busy here, and Xu Kaiyuan, who wanted to enter the war zone directly, needless to say. Just listening to the current battle situation report and combat plan arrangements consumed a full half-day of the Fujian officers.
Fortunately, this was not Xu Kaiyuan's first visit to Luzon, and he still had a slight advantage in familiarity with the environment here. The process of formulating the sailing plan was much smoother than that of Li Zhencheng's.
The two supply fleets escorted by the Fujian and Taiwan fleets respectively carried different goods. The shipments to the war zone were mainly ammunition, rations, medicines and other materials, with a total of 17 ships.
There were twenty-four ships in the fleet transporting to Beimen Port in the New World. In addition to food, cooking utensils, tents, tools and agricultural tools, various crop seedlings and other supplies, there were also nearly a thousand immigrants who were going to settle there.
When this supply fleet returns, it may bring back specimens of various flora, fauna and minerals collected by technicians at Beimen Port, as well as some Spanish prisoners with intelligence value screened out through local identification.
At that time, the Taiwan fleet only needs to escort it to the Luzon area north of the Celebes Sea, complete the handover with the Luzon fleet, which will take over the second half of the escort mission, and then escape. If he can get permission from the combat headquarters, Li Zhencheng can lead the fleet back to the war zone.
Of course, if the battle with the Spaniards is still in a stalemate by then, then the two fleets from Fujian and Taiwan may need to conduct one more escort mission.
Two days later, the Taiwanese fleet, which had completed its rest and replenishment, set off from Cavite Port and headed south to Beimen Port, thousands of miles away.
The Fujian fleet led by Xu Kaiyuan showed no sign of setting off at this time. Since the Manila authorities temporarily decided to transport 20 additional field guns to the front line, Xu Kaiyuan had to stay at the Port of Cavite for two more days to wait for this batch of guns. The artillery and ammunition are in place for loading.
Li Zhencheng naturally regarded this as good news. He was originally worried that because his destination was too far away, the time gap with the Fujian Fleet would be too large, and he might lose the opportunity to win military exploits in this expedition.
Now that the opponent's departure time is delayed by two days, it is equivalent to narrowing the gap between the two by two days, which is especially precious for a mission that takes more than half a month.
The number of ships in the Taiwan fleet and supply fleet is almost one to one, which is probably a rare scale since the war began. It is said that the supply fleet that was attacked in the war zone had only four exploration-class warships serving as escort missions at that time. This is not to say that Luzon does not pay attention to logistical security. It is really that they can no longer spare more warships to serve as escort missions. As a result, they were unlucky and ran into the Spanish main force. This time, we spent a lot of money to hire two bodyguards from other places. The purpose was to ensure that similar security problems would not occur again in the supply fleet.
Relying on accurate charts, Li Zhencheng almost completed the voyage from Manila Bay to the southern tip of Mindanao within the safety zone by the shortest route, but it still took him a full five days.
At this point, one-third of the entire voyage has been completed, but for the next two-thirds of the voyage, all safety guarantees can only come from the escort fleet itself.
Two days later, the lookout discovered Morotai Island on the mast. This island is located at the northern end of the Maluku Islands. Seeing this island appear in the field of view means that it has entered the marginal waters of the war zone.
Li Zhencheng did not dare to be careless and ordered the fleet to form a formation, divided into left and right groups, sandwiching the supply fleet in the middle. At the same time, he reported his position to the combat headquarters by telegram. He also ordered two swordfish-class reconnaissance ships to move forward for twenty miles to explore the situation of the route ahead.
According to the call back from the combat command, no trace of the Spanish fleet has been found near the location of the Taiwan fleet, but the command still requires them to try their best not to enter the danger zone marked on the chart and to quickly pass through this sea area along the established route.
Li Zhencheng also carried out the order honestly and arrived near the west coast of Papua two days later, which meant that nearly two-thirds of the voyage had been completed.
Papua is a huge island, spanning nearly 5,000 miles from east to west. It is the largest island in the Pacific, slightly larger than Borneo to the west of the war zone.
Haihan placed Papua Island outside the war zone, not because he confirmed that the island was a safe zone, but because he really did not have the energy to clear the coast of this big island.
However, Spain may not have such a tacit understanding. Just as the escort fleet passed near Cape Dadi at the western end of the island, a bright red firework suddenly rose on the sea in the distance, and then exploded in the air. It's a warning signal from a scout ship.
Before Li Zhencheng could give the order, the reconnaissance ship in the distance set off fireworks again. This means that the reconnaissance ship has not only confirmed the enemy's situation, but also that the enemy is attacking at high speed!
Immediately, Li Zhencheng's flagship sounded its whistle, using the alternating long and short signals as signals, ordering all ships to enter combat mode.
The supply fleet, under the cover of several warships, broke away from the team first and sailed out in the other direction to avoid being involved in the battlefield.
Soon Li Zhencheng saw his opponent in the telescope, which was an armed fleet composed of twelve large sailing ships.
Li Zhencheng didn't care whether the other party suddenly appeared in this sea area, whether it was an ambush in advance or a pure encounter. Since the other party showed up on his own initiative and had the intention of fighting, the best way to deal with it at the moment was to fight head-on.
When the distance between the two sides was less than twenty miles, the other side probably saw the lineup clearly. Perhaps Li Zhencheng's Majesty-class flagship was too intimidating, or perhaps the Taiwan fleet had an obvious advantage in the number of warships. The other side judged that this battle was definitely not going to be easy, so they actually started to turn northeast to leave the battlefield.