Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 319: Naval Forces (Part 3)
The sailing warships of this era had slight differences in superstructure and bow images due to different national conditions, but since time travelers from all countries chose the galleon as the basic ship type at that time, the warships of each country had very little difference in essence.
Because the difference is very small, everyone is about the same in terms of speed.
Taking the current 1,200-ton first-class battleships of various countries as an example, although they have been improved , their speed is only about 6 to 8 knots. When the wind direction, tidal flow direction, etc. are perfectly matched, the maximum speed they can reach is 10 knots (one knot is 1.852 kilometers per hour at a latitude of 45°).
As for the 600-ton second-class battleship, its normal speed is 8 to 10 knots, and in extreme cases it can reach 13 knots (new ship, with fewer bottom derivatives. The wind direction, water direction and tidal forces are just right).
As for the Japanese, a nation that always likes to carry big guns on small boats, the displacement of their second-class battleships reached 700 tons. The extra 100 tons was entirely for the purpose of carrying more guns, which seriously damaged the balance of the hull, resulting in the second-class battleships of Japan being not much faster than the first-class battleships.
So here comes the problem.
In order to increase the cargo capacity, the transport ships of this era had a very low aspect ratio. In other words, the transport ships were all round. In this era of sail-powered ships, the speed of such ships was generally only about 3 to 5 knots. Therefore, facing a second-level warship with a speed of twice or more, once the transport fleet was discovered, it would basically be impossible to escape.
Now, even if the Spanish retreated early, the remaining Japanese-Thai joint fleet, plus the army and logistics personnel on the troop transport ships, together amounted to a large force of more than 80,000 people. The daily food consumption was quite astonishing.
Precisely because this was foreseen, Rajabhat University arranged logistics supply points one by one in Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Saigon, Hainan Island and Taiwan Island. Compared with land transportation, sea transportation has a much larger cargo capacity, but there are also considerable risks, so ports and supply points must be set up along the way.
But now, Yan Siqi's fleet has caused great trouble to this long supply line!
what to do?
The other party made it clear that they were going to attack your supply lines and were so despicable that they refused to fight a decisive battle, which really left Luo Ji Fu Tu helpless.
Because, if you send out the first-class battleships, they will just run away - you can't catch up anyway. If you send out the second-class battleships, haha, Siam only has a total of 50 second-class battleships participating in this war, and after several battles, there are still 45 - this is at a disadvantage in terms of quantity.
And where is this place? It's the coastal waters of Ming! If a decisive battle at sea is launched, if the Ming warships are damaged, they can try their best to advance to the western continent, and then find a place to land and dock. And the Siamese warships are damaged?
Also, if you send all the second-level warships to chase the enemy fleet, what will happen to the first-level warships without the protection of the second-level warships? What if the workers of the Changsha Shipyard organize a death squad to go crazy one night?
In short, the problem now is: if we divide our forces, we won’t be able to open up the food supply route. If we send out the entire army, we won’t be able to catch up with that bastard Yan Siqi!
"Ah~~" After thinking through these questions, Luo Zhifu Tu sighed: "General Liu Sheng, if you were to lead this coalition army and encounter such a situation, how would you prepare to deal with it?"
"Your Majesty, I am Japanese. Of course, my plan will take into account the interests of the alliance and allies, but I will also unconsciously consider Japan."
"…No, it's okay. Just tell me what's going on."
"Okay, Your Majesty. The Ming people have an old saying, 'The army cannot go without food for a day.' Now, if that Ming admiral Yan Siqi is not bluffing, our strongholds in Saigon, Hainan, and Taiwan have all been destroyed. This means that we may not get any supplies in ten days. And in ten days, we may not be able to capture the Changsha Shipyard. Therefore, my first suggestion is to withdraw. Withdraw to Taiwan Island first to see the situation. If our supply fleet is not there, we will collect food from the local natives."
"I just asked the transport and supply personnel who were released from our country very carefully. What Yan Siqi said should not be a lie."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Then, after we regain supplies on Taiwan Island, my fleet will accompany you to Hainan Island to evacuate your country's two elite divisions there."
"Retreat?! General Yagyu, do we need to retreat so thoroughly?"
"Your Majesty, although I hate to say it, we must admit that the first joint combat plan of our two countries has failed."
Why did Yagyu Kanbei say this?
That's because, in the subsequent correspondence between Luoyafutu and Tokugawa Yoshinao and the details of the battle agreed upon by his confidants, both sides clearly stipulated that Thailand, Japan, and Spain would form a joint fleet to capture Hainan Island of Ming. If possible, it would be best to directly bombard Guangzhou Prefecture. In this way, given the political ecology of Ming, even Kaiyang knew that this was not a good time for a decisive battle. Under political pressure, he had to assemble the navy for a decisive battle with the joint fleet of the three countries.
With the combined fleet's combat power at least twice that of the Ming Navy, there was no doubt that they would win the battle.
As a result, the Ming Dynasty, which had lost its navy, would completely lose its control of the sea. At that time, it would be relatively easy for the fleets of the three countries to harass the coast of the Ming Dynasty, block the Strait of Malacca, or even lay siege to the Changsha Shipyard for a long time without distraction.
However, no one could have imagined that Kaiyang had such a high control over the Ming Dynasty. And now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually delegated power so fully - Hainan Island! Now it is Qiongzhou Prefecture of the Guangdong Provincial Administration! The real ancestral land and ancestral people, you lost such a large area, and you dare to bear the pressure for the navy and not let them come to fight us?
Changsha Shipyard! This is the only shipyard in your country that can build modern sailing warships! When you were besieged, not even one of your battleships was at home?
Therefore, the plan to exert military pressure and let Ming's politics interfere with the military, forcing the Ming navy to engage in a decisive battle with the Combined Fleet, failed... and when the Ming navy began to attack Siam's long sea transportation lines, Raja Buddha was at a loss.
"Well...Okay, General Yagyu, I admit that our joint operation failed this time. Although we have achieved some victories, the biggest goal of this trip, forcing the Ming Navy to fight a decisive battle with us, has not been achieved. Now, we must shrink the transportation line, so we must withdraw our troops from Hainan Island."
"Yes, Your Majesty. For the sake of our common cause, I am willing to lead my fleet to accompany you back to Saigon."
Withdraw to Saigon? Hearing Liu Sheng's words, Luo Zhifu's depressed mood improved a little: Yes, after withdrawing to Saigon, I will go to fight Annan, at least capture some people, and rob some treasures and materials to bring back to the country. Only in this way can I give an explanation to my own people.
As for what's next? Humph, Japan has so many troops trapped in Korea that it doesn't dare to withdraw from the alliance easily. Maybe we will need the Siamese Navy to go north again to transport food for them - this is why the Japanese, who have always been careful with their calculations, took the initiative to offer to help us withdraw our troops, right?
It doesn't matter, you help me withdraw the troops now, and I will help you transport food in the second half of the year. At the same time, I will take advantage of this period of time to contact the Spanish travelers again and ask them to send more warships over!
After all, naval affairs can only be resolved by the navy. From now on, I will not think about landing on the beach before destroying the main force of the Ming navy!
Kaiyang, just wait, our competition has just begun!
