Chapter 1 The Flagship

Min Yue's fleet was originally tasked with bringing Ye Tao back to Dongping. There was a special Huya-class warship whose cabin arrangements had been carefully considered. It wasn't particularly luxurious, but it was meticulously detailed and comfortable. This ship naturally became Ye Tao's flagship. Although Ye Tao wasn't an expert in shipbuilding, he understood the basic structure of the Huya-class ships. After boarding the ship with Tan Weixin, he immediately noticed that the difference between this ship and other Huya-class warships wasn't just the reduced number of ballista positions and ammunition reserves to free up enough space for comfortable accommodation. This Huya-class ship, named "Ningxuan," was clearly a dedicated fleet flagship. The original structure of the Huya-class was quite similar to modern warships, with a central bridge on the upper level and gun emplacements at the bow, stern, and sides. However, the Ningxuan had undergone new changes. The upper structure was wider and taller, divided into three levels. The top level was a platform shaped like two inverted trapezoids connected together, with the front used for observing sea conditions and the overall battlefield situation, and the rear equipped with several signal flag and light box communication positions, capable of communicating with several warships simultaneously. The middle level was a semi-enclosed bridge connected to a large chart room. These two spacious and bright cabins already had the feel of a modern warship's bridge and command center. The bottom level of the upper structure contained the living quarters for the guards, a series of preparation rooms and tool rooms for deck work, and an armory for storing various cold weapons.

Min Yue proudly introduced to Ye Tao that this Ningxuan was specially built with great effort. After the strong rise of the Seven Seas Trading Company, Dongping had greatly increased its strength by relying on this special trading group, and even acquired Yazhou, a territory with abundant resources and an excellent strategic location. The Seven Seas Trading Company's fleet could also become Dongping's maritime power at crucial moments. However, the Dongping navy was in an awkward position. The navy, which had already had some status, had only been able to assist the Seven Seas Trading Company in recent years. The naval officers and soldiers were very dissatisfied, but their main responsibility was to defend the sea border, and they didn't have many opportunities to attack, so they could only suppress their anger. This pressure made the navy work harder in training and be more serious and meticulous in tracking the latest naval warfare trends and tactics. The Seven Seas Trading Company's escort fleet had undergone thousands of large and small naval battles, all of which were recorded by the navy. By tracking the data from these naval battles, the navy was also studying how to improve its combat effectiveness.

The Dongping navy had long abandoned ship-to-ship combat and adopted non-contact naval warfare based on Shenbi Crossbows and trebuchets. This led to the Cangshui-class and Lanshui-class warships, which were very useful. The Huya-class warships developed by the Seven Seas Trading Company were designed from the beginning to prioritize long-range strikes as the main mode of operation. As captains and fleet commanders became more and more aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the Huya-class warships, combat methods such as Huya-class warship formation shooting and area suppression emerged, and warship formation command and coordination became an increasingly important proposition. After the birth of airships, the Seven Seas Trading Company and the Dongping navy almost simultaneously considered bringing airships to the sea to enrich combat methods. In this regard, compared with the Seven Seas Trading Company's combat fleet, which was constantly engaged in combat and had no time to calm down to think and organize, the Dongping navy's considerations were more serious and meticulous. Min Yue and a group of generals from the navy were able to obtain more information about airship operations than the people from the Seven Seas Trading Company. The benefits of airships in reconnaissance and the deterrence they formed against the enemy were also considered in their improved naval combat strategy. When changing combat methods and conducting a series of exercises and training, the naval generals unanimously discovered a problem: communication. The Ye Clan Workshop's electrical research had just started. Although electromagnetic waves had entered the field of vision of those top technicians under Ye Tao's "guidance," it was unknown when wireless communication would be possible. For the time being, they could only use signal flags, light boxes, and other means to conduct naval warfare command. The original method of hanging command flags and communicating with each other through signal flags seemed inadequate for naval warfare command, which increasingly emphasized coordination. In more modern terms, the channel wasn't wide enough. They could only communicate with two or three warships at the same time. In order to change this situation, the Dongping navy simply built an experimental Ningxuan, sacrificing firepower and freeing up space for dedicated naval warfare command. The First Fleet of the Yazhou Navy, which was sent this time, had undergone a complete set of exercises to cooperate with the Ningxuan. Sacrificing the firepower of one warship, but gaining a more refined grasp of the overall naval warfare situation, was generally considered very worthwhile.

The warship captains of the Seven Seas Trading Company were all knowledgeable people. After setting sail, they quickly held several operational meetings at sea. After boarding the Ningxuan and taking a look, the captains discovered the benefits of the Ningxuan's design for naval warfare command. This allowed the Dongping navy's soldiers to show off in front of those captains who had brilliant battle records. This was the Dongping navy's independent research and development achievement, and the Dongping navy's strategic research office, which wasn't very professional but played an active role, also seemed to have some meaning because of the affirmation of these captains. Naturally, whether it was really useful or not would depend on how much effectiveness the Ningxuan could发挥 (fā huī - bring into play) in actual combat.

With Min Yue, a veteran naval general, in command, Ye Tao also had a lot more confidence. Ye Tao knew that he was a decent land warfare general. On the one hand, because he had done all kinds of work in advance, whether it was the selection of strategic opportunities, the grasp of tactical situations, the strength of the main combat troops, or the guarantee of logistics, there was no reason for failure in previous battles, except for Ye Tao's impulsive attack on Xiling with the Blood Kirin Army, which disrupted the agreement. With thorough preparation, Ye Tao always believed in the team he led and in his own decisions. However, in the extremely professional field of naval warfare, Ye Tao didn't have this confidence. However, with Min Yue's trust, Ye Tao's absolute prestige in the eyes of the people of the Seven Seas Trading Company was assisted by professional knowledge, skills, and experience.

"Old Min, how do you think we should fight?" After getting to know each other, Min Yue and Ye Tao, who weren't particular about etiquette, shortened their titles to the extreme. This kind of intimacy and trust might be very useful at critical moments.

"From here to the Montoya Islands, it will take at least ten days, right? This is only possible if we are sailing smoothly with the wind now. Although Old Man Qi is old, he is still strong in naval warfare command. I believe that since Old Man Qi chose to deal with the enemy, he must be confident that he can hold on. In terms of the strength of the Huya-class warships, even if they encounter any danger, they can at least run away. Just directly rushing to support Old Man Qi is quite reliable. However, the problem is that our current fleet seems too wasteful for this task alone. After joining up with Old Man Qi, are we going to join the thousand-ship melee? Or are we going to do something else?" Min Yue asked with a chuckle.

"Aren't you looking forward to the thousand-ship melee?" Ye Tao asked in confusion, "Aren't you in a hurry to see it?"

"It's indeed rare to see a thousand-ship melee. The thought of that scene makes me itch, and I always have to see it. But naval warfare is different from land warfare. A thousand-ship melee... is not the same as a battle of hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops on the ground. Fighting like this will probably take a long time. This is both sides betting on their national fortunes, and no one will give up until the last moment. It's like watching a play. Even if the play is very good, watching it from beginning to end can sometimes be a little boring. We can arrive before the climax, right?"

Ye Tao thought for a while and said, "What do you want to play? Do you already have an idea? ... But did you know in advance that there would be a fight here? In principle, you shouldn't have been prepared."

"Even if there's no war, we're not allowed to think about it..." Min Yue said with a smile, "How many years has it been since the navy had a decent battle to fight? We've been watching the Samir family fight here. The Middle East sea charts piled up in the Navy Yamen (Government Office) are no less than those of the Seven Seas Trading Company, and thanks to their willingness to help, they're willing to give the Navy Yamen copies of those precious sea charts. We've deduced the battle situation here countless times. Although the Navy Yamen gets news much later, it's better than ignoring it. Because of the research in the Navy Yamen, we have the Ningxuan. Now, everyone sees that doing research in the Navy Yamen is still very beneficial. So everyone has become more serious. Although war game deductions can't compare to actual combat, it's better than having no preparation at all." Min Yue said with a bit of helplessness, "If the Navy Yamen didn't have so many things to take care of, I would rather bring my men to the Nanyang (South Seas)... Unfortunately, the war is already coming to an end."

Ye Tao said with a smile, "Old Min, wait until we fight the Northern Liao. The navy will definitely be able to show its face at that time. If you don't want to be a supporting role at that time, you have to prepare now. Continue, how do you want to fight this battle?"

Min Yue said meaningfully, "How about we go to the Gulf region, to their lair, and stir things up?"

"Okay... we'll study the specific plan later. Now, it's important to pick up Old Man Qi first. After all, it's not a good idea to let Old Man Qi deal with the superior enemy with only a few escort warships." Ye Tao nodded.

Min Yue said happily, "Having your 'okay' is enough."