You know,
When the plan was first formulated, the greatest fear was not anything else, but that Da Cun would become suspicious.
Although it could be inferred now that something had gone wrong, there was no evidence. If they didn't attack now, what if the Japanese pirates had already left port? Missing the opportunity would be a wasted joy, and the pressure on Yu Da You would be immense. He might even have to flee far away, and then the Japanese pirates could encircle them at sea, putting that Fujian Navy fleet in jeopardy. But if they attacked now according to the plan, it still made one's heart palpitate with unease…
Zhu Mo glanced at the clepsydra. It was already the hour of the Ox. According to the original plan, this was the time to advance directly into the Li Gang waterway. But a hunch kept swirling overhead: perhaps they should wait a little longer?
At this moment,
Lin Ming Guo and Chen Zu De could no longer hold back. Chen Zu De, at the mouth of the right waterway, raised a torch towards them, waving the special coded signals of the Fujian Navy.
Lin Ming Guo was very anxious, saying, "Scholar Zhu, Commander Chen is urging us to advance!"
"Wait, wait a little longer, let me think…"
Zhu Mo lowered his head in thought, looking at the sky, then at the dark, heavy port in the distance, and said firmly, "Tell him to wait a little longer, at most until the second quarter of the hour of the Ox!"
Lin Ming Guo, while sending the coded message, also said anxiously, "But, Scholar Zhu, if we miss the opportune moment, General Yu will disown us all!"
Zhu Mo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry! Wait a little longer, things should change soon."
He said this not without reason—
Perhaps for some reason, such as low morale, or the waterway being silted up, or some situation arising with Yu Da You, the military report had not yet reached Da Cun. Or, it had arrived, but Da Cun was hesitating there… Both possibilities existed.
The key point was: our side is anxious, and the enemy is equally anxious, perhaps even more so…
After all, it was the enemy being attacked, and a place they had to save. No matter how much Da Cun could procrastinate, he couldn't hold on forever. If he didn't mobilize his main force soon, in two or three hours, Daishan Water Village would be finished. If the Ming army then landed and encamped, it would turn into a land battle. The Japanese pirates' naval advantage would be negated, and they would be defeated sooner or later.
Therefore,
Zhu Mo was certain that under these circumstances, the enemy would move first. The idea that they had already left port was simply not plausible. Even if they had left, their camps would have been brightly lit. And with the waterway being narrow, how could they navigate without lights?
The more anxious one is, the more one must remain calm.
As long as I don't move, the enemy must move.
He let out a long breath and said loudly, "Tell everyone to rest for a while, don't be in a hurry! The more you rush, the more likely you are to suffer defeat! Wait a little longer, the enemy situation will surely change!"
Watching the clepsydra tick by, the new moon in the night sky grew dimmer, and layers of dark clouds slowly rolled in. The two fleets remained motionless. In the stillness, everyone was extremely anxious, feeling that they had never experienced such a thrilling battle in their lives.
Lin Ming Guo saw Zhu Mo standing alone at the bow, looking leisurely. He sighed inwardly, "I wonder what kind of person this young man is… Why does he always come up with such strange tricks? I heard he fought a battle with Anda in Xuan Da, and the battle in Hua Ting was also reportedly good. I hope he's a lucky general, otherwise, the brothers on the entire ship will be dragged down by him…"
As he thought this, something Yu Da You had mentioned suddenly came to mind, and he immediately walked over and asked,
"Scholar Zhu, I heard that when you were fighting in Hua Ting, you went to a place called Sanjiao Fen once, and then changed your tactics before the battle, only to achieve victory in the end?"
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo naturally knew what he was worried about and smiled,
"Don't worry, Officer Lin. My intuition has never been wrong… In my opinion, Da Cun is in the port. He's more anxious than us and should move soon… After he leaves port, we'll sneak in… Have the brothers sleep for a while, there will be plenty of fighting to do then…"
Mm-hmm,
Lin Ming Guo gained a little confidence at this point, thinking that in ancient warfare, if everything was fine, and then something unexpected happened, then the two armies would compete in luck, and luck, in reality, was a competition of the intuition of the two commanders. This Zhu Mo, with his ruddy complexion, steady breathing, and calm demeanor, should be fine.
He immediately called out loudly for everyone to take turns sleeping in the cabin, and then leaned against the ship's railing to doze off.
However, after not long,
Lin Ming Guo suddenly heard a clamor in his ear—
"The Japanese stockade is lit up!"
"The Japanese pirates are leaving port!"
"Scholar Zhu was right! The Japanese pirates can't hold back anymore!"
"Ooh ooh ooh!"
"…"
All the soldiers on the ship were leaning against the ship's railing. Although they lowered their voices, the commotion was still immense. Lin Ming Guo rushed over and peered over the railing, and was stunned—
The sides of the Li Gang waterway were now brightly lit!
Figures like ants were gathering to the north, and at the mouth of the northern waterway in the distance, nearly three hundred warships had lit up their fires.
Lin Ming Guo exclaimed, regretting that he had fallen asleep at such a crucial moment. Why hadn't the generals woken him up? He immediately ran to the bow and said to Zhu Mo,
"Scholar Zhu, you were right! Da Cun was indeed hesitating!"
Heh heh,
Zhu Mo smiled calmly, thinking: Da Cun, that fellow, was probably worried about being lured away from his base and deliberately stayed put until he couldn't wait any longer, then mobilized his entire army. This guy is indeed difficult to deal with. If it were someone else, tonight would have been very uncertain…
He said, "It was I who told them not to wake you, so you could sleep more. When fighting, we still rely on you; I'm useless."
Hahaha,
The soldiers burst into laughter.
Zhu Mo said loudly, "Everyone get a little more sleep! In one hour, at the first quarter of the hour of the Tiger, the entire army will attack Li Gang!"
Whoosh!
Splash!
The soldiers on the slow ships cheered enthusiastically, all feeling that this young scholar was indeed a legendary lucky general, his intuition even more accurate than Commander Yu's!
Zhu Mo then ordered:
"Lin Ming Guo, select fifty civilian laborers, twenty gunners, and a hundred arquebusiers. According to the original plan, set up fifteen gun emplacements north of Daochu Mountain, with two carts of ammunition. Zhenhai Reclaimation Guard will resupply you every ten days. For everything else, you will have to figure it out yourselves once you reach the island!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Lin Ming Guo immediately ordered a subordinate who had followed him for six or seven years to take a small boat, approach a transport ship, and land on the beach north of Daochu Mountain. Following the original plan, they found suitable firing positions, fifteen in total, arranged in a concave shape, perfectly blocking the southern mouth of the Li Gang waterway.
At the same time,
The war fleets on the left and right sides sailed along the sides of the waterway towards Li Gang.
Zhu Mo saw that the Japanese pirate camps were arrayed on both sides, numbering seven or eight in total. In the distance, to the right of the port, was another large city, almost as big as Hua Ting, the port city he had personally visited before. It was situated with mountains behind and water in front. Although the population was not as numerous as in the past, there were quite a few temporary civilian houses. This showed that the Japanese pirates had indeed been reinforced continuously during this period.
He estimated the distance to be less than two li. At this moment, the Japanese pirates in the port also discovered the fleet, and a large swarm of black dots like ants began to move.
Zhu Mo knew they also hadFalconet guns and cannons. Since they were still far from the firing range, he waved his command flag and said loudly,
"Fire!"