Chapter 373: Naval Battle

The Bay of Tonkin’s silence was shattered by the roar of cannon fire.

Having received a hefty bribe and responded to a merchant ship’s distress call, the Annan Navy had barely sailed sixty li from home when they were ambushed.

A three-hundred-ton warship, before it could react, was pierced by a massive hole in its hull.

Seawater rushed in swiftly; nimble Annan sailors leapt overboard to escape.

In an instant, the warship was swallowed by the sea.

The devastating firepower stunned Annan naval troops, accustomed to close-quarters combat.

“Order the gunners to return fire immediately!”

Send out a small boat to rush back and request reinforcements from the Provincial Military Commander.”

I will crush this band of pirates and use their heads to show the world that the Annan Navy cannot be trifled with.”

Assistant Regional Commander Nguyen Yu Feng immediately ordered a counterattack.

The money wasn’t paid for nothing; if they couldn’t save the merchant ship, they’d at least annihilate this band of pirates.

As the petty tyrant of Southeast Asia, the Annan Navy was no weak force.

Though these pirates’ firepower was fiercer and their ships taller, that was no reason to retreat.

If he, an Assistant Regional Commander, lost to a band of pirates while outnumbering them, he’d have no place left in the navy.

His faulty judgment cost the detachment its best chance to withdraw.

Had the enemy ships flown the banners of the Yu Navy, Nguyen Yu Feng would have turned and fled at once.

Regular troops and pirates are fundamentally different; aside from a few elite bands that have transformed, most pirates are makeshift gangs.

“Sir, enemy ships are flanking us from the side!”

Upon hearing the warning, Nguyen Yu Feng cursed inwardly.

The wind blew from the southwest; the sudden enemy force was riding the wind, moving far faster than normal sailing speed.

“Western warships?”

“Signal immediately—tell them this is a misunderstanding!”

Nguyen Yu Feng ordered urgently.

In his mind, pirates had no Western warships, and the Yu Navy didn’t equip such vessels either.

Only the Franks from the West favored sailing warships.

The Annan Empire was already at war with the Yu Empire; crushing ignorant pirates was acceptable, but provoking the Franks would be foolish.

As the ships drew closer, the Portuguese flag suddenly lowered, replaced instantly by the Yu Navy’s banner.

At nearly the same moment, the pirate fleet they were fighting also raised the Yu Navy’s banner.

“Retreat!”

Realizing he’d been tricked, Nguyen Yu Feng ordered a swift withdrawal.

By now, the reinforcement boat should be nearing port.

Fighting while retreating, they only needed to hold out for two hours before reinforcements arrived.

“Send the powder ship to ram them—break their formation!”

Seeing the distance close, the Regional Commander of the Two Guangs’ fleet gave the ramming order.

Before artillery technology improved, ramming was a vital offensive tactic.

The Two Guangs’ fleet stood precisely at this transitional stage.

They had begun equipping large-caliber cannons while still retaining their old close-combat tactics.

According to Li Mu’s plan, within five years the Two Guangs’ fleet would phase out old tactics and enter the age of gunships.

…

Annan Navy’s main camp.

“What?”

“Ambushed by pirates?”

Huang Jinchuan asked in disbelief.

Pirates ambushing the navy sounded like a fairy tale.

Whether they could win was secondary—the point was, it made no sense.

Piracy was for profit; attacking the navy brought no benefit except self-destruction.

Though maritime warlords now rose everywhere, none had yet emerged as a behemoth like Zheng’s clan at the end of the Ming.

Though the Annan Empire was no match for the Yu Empire, once it resolved to crush a pirate band, it could still do so.

“Yes, my Lord Commander!”

“Our fleet went out on routine patrol, encountered pirates raiding a merchant ship, and moved to intervene.

We never imagined these pirates were so ruthless they’d dare attack imperial naval forces.

Assistant Regional Commander Nguyen is engaged in fierce battle and sent me back to beg for reinforcements.

Please, my Lord Commander, send troops to annihilate this band of pirates!”

The middle-aged officer deliberately concealed key information.

It was standard procedure for the navy to intervene when pirates raided; there was no need to expose the bribery.

In essence, they had been doing private business behind their superior’s back.

If discovered, every man in the fleet would face ruin.

“Order the Central and Right Division Assistant Regional Commanders to lead their troops to rescue the Left Division!”

After a brief hesitation, Huang Jinchuan issued the order.

Regardless of the reason, pirates attacking the navy would not be tolerated.

…

On the sea.

One by one, powder-laden warships charged toward the Annan fleet, their hulls like runaway horses slicing through the waves at top speed.

“No!”

“Get out of the way!”

In panic, Nguyen Yu Feng shouted orders.

But it was too late—the reaction came too late.

To avoid the fire ships, two Annan vessels collided, then struck a third passing nearby.

The middle ship was overturned outright; the other two, like arrows, shot into their comrades.

As the chain collision unfolded, the powder ships rammed in.

With a thunderous blast, fire instantly swallowed the night, casting terror into every heart.

The explosion’s shockwave churned monstrous waves, as if the sea itself trembled.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, over a dozen Annan vessels vanished beneath the waves.

By now, Nguyen Yu Feng’s fleet had suffered over half its strength in losses.

With formation shattered, the remaining ships scattered like birds and beasts.

Through the cannon fire, faint shouts from officers could be heard urging faster retreats.

The battle had become a hunt—a race for speed.

Slower ships were quickly overtaken by the Yu forces, reduced to meat on the chopping block.

Some officers, unable to bear the pressure, raised white flags—only to be met with more cannonballs.

It wasn’t that the Yu forces refused prisoners; the situation was exceptional.

The Yu Navy had to finish the battle and withdraw before enemy reinforcements arrived.

The ships choosing to surrender were all disabled.

Towing them would severely slow their movement.

If abandoned, the Annan Navy could recover them, repair them, and reuse them.

As dusk fell, the bloody battle ended; the blood-stained sea drew countless underwater predators.

“Cease pursuit. Return to Lianzhougang.”

Seeing distant ship silhouettes, Li Wenhe issued the retreat order.

This operation was for plunder, not to fight the Annan people to the death.

To destroy an enemy detachment with minimal losses was a massive gain.

There was no need to fight another battle over a few stragglers.

Though we only sank dozens of enemy ships, these were the Annan Navy’s elite core.

One detachment’s strength equaled a quarter of the entire Annan Navy.

Any force losing a quarter of its strength would be crippled.

Once we exaggerate the victory, the pirate bands lurking nearby will have their chance to strike.

With Annan’s long coastline, if pirates begin landing and raiding everywhere, the weakened Annan Navy will have its hands full.

…

“Brother Duan, we just received word.

The Two Guangs Navy disguised themselves as pirates and ambushed the Annan Navy near their coast, sinking dozens of large and medium warships.”

The one-eyed man reported excitedly.

To plunder Annan, after the Provincial Military Commander’s meeting ended, all pirate leaders returned and recruited men, forming three major pirate alliances.

The man before them, called Brother Duan, was the alliance leader elected by one of the pirate coalitions.

“Oh!”

“It seems the Marquis of Han River’s promise still holds.”

“The Annan navy has suffered heavy losses—now you can all rest easy!”

Brother Duan said with a chuckle.

Raiding the Annan people was a considerable challenge for the pirates.

In terms of ship numbers alone, the pirates outnumbered the Annan navy by dozens of times.

But ships are not all the same.

The pirates’ vessels were mostly converted merchant ships, far inferior in combat power to warships.

A single large naval warship could take on a dozen pirate merchant ships as if playing a game.

Even the strongest pirate captains possessed few warships.

The greatest dream of countless pirate chieftains was to own their own shipyard, where they could freely build all kinds of vessels.

Even the most powerful pirate king had achieved only half his goal: owning his own shipyard.

Building all kinds of vessels was impossible.

On one hand, the court imposed technological blockades; on the other, constructing large warships required not only countless craftsmen but also a full industrial supply chain.

With only craftsmen and timber, you could at best build ordinary ships.

Some pirates sought amnesty precisely to gain access to warship-building technology.

The most typical example was Zheng Zhilong of the late Ming: before accepting imperial amnesty, though a major sea bandit, he still had many rivals.

After receiving amnesty, he obtained the Ming dynasty’s state-run shipyards, cannon technology, and vast numbers of craftsmen—his group achieved a qualitative leap.

“Brother Duan, you’re being too formal.”

“With you leading us, how could we not trust you?”

The bearded giant immediately replied.

If not for everyone being a witness, no one would have guessed he had been the fiercest opponent.

No other reason—he simply didn’t trust the court, believing the imperial troops wanted them to bleed the Annan navy dry and then swoop in to claim the spoils.

Now that the Guangdong-Guangxi navy had led the charge and severely damaged the Annan navy, all their fears vanished.

Everything else can be faked, but battle cannot be lied about.

With their capabilities, they could verify the truth at any moment.

The Annan people could never have coordinated their own navy to stage this deception.

“Since everyone has no objections, let’s pick a good day to land and strike a major blow.”

“But how exactly we fight still requires strategy.”

“Since the Annan navy has gathered in the north, we’ll begin raiding from the south.”

“If they rush south to reinforce, we’ll circle back and raid the north.”

“Of course, if conditions allow, uniting with the other two groups to destroy the Annan navy isn’t out of the question.”

“Plundering a nation will give us everything we want: shipyards, craftsmen, cannons, gold, silver, jewels, and beautiful women.”

“I, Duan, am not one to hoard spoils alone—if you brothers lend your strength, these gains belong to all of you!”

Brother Duan immediately promised.

Knowing some among them distrusted the court and refused amnesty, he directly tempted them with plunder.

Compared to Great Yu, Annan’s technology might be slightly behind, but to the pirates, it was still extremely useful.

…

Zhen Nan Pass.

“My Lord, General Li Wenhao of the Guangdong-Guangxi navy has sent a battle report: three days ago, they dealt a crushing blow to the enemy navy in Annan waters.”

“They sank over eighty enemy warships of all sizes and killed more than three thousand Annan sailors.”

Lan Linjie said joyfully.

Conquering Annan was Li Mu’s group’s current paramount strategy.

Success would establish a legacy lasting a hundred years.

No matter how the world’s future unfolded, they would secure their place in it.

Failure, however, would either severely damage Li Mu’s reputation as the undefeated war god—or plunge him into endless court intrigues.

He had read history and understood clearly that the noble military clique now stood at a crossroads.

Throughout history, no other dynasty had witnessed factional strife on the scale of Great Yu.

In the past, factional struggles were merely games among a few great families and a few dozen lesser aristocratic clans.

Whoever controlled the heads of these families could influence national politics through them.

With the development of the imperial examination system, aristocratic clans declined, replaced by a new gentry class.

Compared to traditional aristocratic clans, the gentry class was far larger and harder to control.

Once there were only a few factions in court; now, each faction contained sub-factions.

Take the Pure Stream faction: beneath it emerged the Chu Party, the Zhe Party, the Jiangnan Academy…

If subdivided further, even these small groups split into radical and conservative wings.

Most crucially, imperial officers’ party affiliations were not fixed—they shifted with interests.

Faction leaders could influence their subordinates, but could directly control only a tiny few.

Most officials held their own positions and could not be guaranteed to align with their party when real crises arose.

This fragmentation was the deliberate result of successive Great Yu emperors’ efforts, successfully weakening ministerial power.

Throughout Great Yu’s history, no case of a powerful minister seizing control had ever occurred.

In another dynasty, a political novice like Emperor Yongning would need bloodshed to wrest power from his regents.

In Great Yu, the transfer of power was largely peaceful.

Though political struggles occurred frequently, their intensity was far lower.

Aside from the unfortunate Zuo Guang’en, who was convicted and executed, the other regents retired unscathed.

Two had died accidentally during the turmoil, but they were still given lavish funerals, with no further purges.

But this was the past—the current situation had subtly changed.

The rise of the noble military faction had encroached upon the interests of the civil official class.

Now that they needed them, the civil officials, divided by conflicting interests, had failed to unify their stance.

Once peace returned, the military officers would become their common enemy.

As his private secretary, he bore Li Mu’s mark—fate bound them together, in loss or glory.

To remain invincible, he must prepare in advance.

(End of Chapter)