Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4845 Dark Night Raid
War is always full of risks, and there is no such thing as "certain victory". Countless cases of defeating the enemy with a smaller force and escaping desperate situations throughout history, both in China and abroad, have shown that there are too many factors that affect the outcome of a war. A storm, a command error, or even a horseshoe can determine the direction of the war and affect the final outcome.

Therefore, Fu Yulong felt that Yang Zhou was a little too arrogant. Instead of waiting for the enemy's reinforcements to arrive and then defeating them in one battle, wouldn't it be safer to defeat them one by one?
Yang Zhou stood in the cabin wearing a helmet and armor, looking at the sea chart on the wall. He shook his head and said, "After all, we are on a long expedition. The soldiers are overloaded and the army is exhausted. It is easy to start a war, but it is extremely difficult to keep it in a state of war. Once we defeat the Arab navy in Shirov Port, the reinforcements coming from Uchi Port will probably be deterred. At that time, even if we can defeat them, they will inevitably scatter. By then, the entire Persian Gulf will be filled with Arab soldiers. As long as they keep harassing us, we will be forced to go from active to passive. It is better to wait for the reinforcements to arrive and catch them all in one fell swoop. Although the risk is greater, it can solve the problem once and for all."

As long as the Arab navy in the ports of Shirov and Ura is wiped out, the entire Persian Gulf will belong to the Tang navy. Only a fleet of dozens of warships is needed to intimidate the entire bay, without having to face the passive situation of the enemy breaking up into small groups, harassing everywhere, and running around in a desperate situation.

As for the risks... Yang Zhou felt that there were none. There was essentially no difference whether it was against the navy of Shiloh Port or against the navy of the Arab Empire in the entire Persian Gulf.

The Tang army warships equipped with new sails are faster, and the new hull structure and shape make the ship's turning more flexible. The firearms equipped on the warships are a "dimensionality reduction strike" against all the navies in the world today. Well, this is what the Duke of Yue said. Although I don't know what it means, it sounds very powerful...

From a strategic perspective, the Tang Dynasty Navy had no rivals anywhere in the world.

Fu Yulong nodded, then he clenched his left fist and hit his right palm, saying, "Even if the Arabs are well prepared, they will only think that we will start the battle early tomorrow morning. After all, darkness is a disaster for naval battles. When we launch a surprise attack at night... this is what Sun Tzu's Art of War calls 'taking the enemy by surprise and attacking them when they are unprepared', right? The general is really a master at using troops! Hehehehe, we will definitely catch them off guard. By dawn, their entire army will have been destroyed and buried in the belly of the fish."

Yang Zhou turned around and took a sip from the teacup on the table. Facing his subordinates' flattery, he said calmly, "You have also studied in the academy. You must have heard the words of Duke Yue, 'Strategically despise the enemy, tactically take the enemy seriously'. War is a place of life and death. We must be careful and cautious. Never be arrogant and underestimate the enemy. Even when facing an opponent like a grasshopper, we must go all out and never give the enemy any chance to take advantage. Either don't fight, or if you do fight, you must strike a fatal blow like an eagle catching a rabbit."

"Yes! I was too arrogant. I will humbly repent and never make the same mistake again!"

"It is a blessing for our ancestors that a talent like you can be born among the people of Baekje. If you work hard and make military achievements, you may be able to return to your homeland. I heard that the court recently plans to set up the Ungjin Governor's Office in Liaodong, right in the old land of Baekje. If you work hard and beg Duke Yue to help you, you will have great hope."

Yang Zhou patted his subordinates on the shoulder and gave them encouragement.

"what?"

Contrary to Yang Zhou's expectation, Buyeo Long was not happy at all when he heard the news, but was full of panic: "Could the court send me to take charge of the Xiongjin Military Governor's Office?"

Yang Zhou asked curiously, "You don't want to?"

Buyeo Long said dejectedly, "It's not a question of whether I am willing or not. I am deserted by my friends in Baekje. The Baekje nobles regard me as a traitor. Buyeo Feng and others want to get rid of me as soon as possible. The Silla Jin family and my family have a feud. If I go back, won't I become the target of public criticism? There is no such thing as a thief who steals for a thousand days. I will be killed sooner or later!"

Yang Zhou: “…”

He looked Fu Yulong up and down and laughed: "You are young, but you have many enemies. How did you survive?"

Fu Yulong said innocently: "General, I didn't want to do this either! I can only say... fate plays tricks on me."

"Fate plays tricks on us? Ha, Duke Yue once said, 'Man can conquer nature'! Our navy does not believe in fate, but only in muskets and cannons. Within the range of cannons and rockets, even the heavens will have to fold their wings and surrender to my control!"

“…Ah? This is… so domineering!”

What else could Fu Yulong say? He was a member of the navy and had received education in the academy, so he could best understand the fierceness and tyranny of the navy officers and soldiers, who "ran rampant on the seven seas and were the only ones in heaven and on earth."

……

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the sea like blazing fireworks and brilliant lights. When the setting sun sinks into the sea bit by bit, the flames gradually go out, and the darkness swallows everything, leaving only the stars and the moon in the sky shining with silvery-white light, cold and lonely.

"General, the reinforcements from Wuci Port have arrived at Shiluofu Port and are now forming a battle array."

The clipper brought the latest news. Yang Zhou was excited when he heard it. He drew out the sword from his waist and raised it high, shouting: "Beat the drum! Raise the sail!"

Boom boom boom!
The dull sound of war drums like thunder sounded on the sea, causing the waves to surge and the stars and the moon to change color. A majestic and vast aura roared and condensed between the sky and the sea.

"Attack!"

The sound of war drums was as dense as raindrops. More than a hundred warships weighed anchor, hoisted sails, and glided on the water until the sails were fully inflated. Then, like arrows shot from a bow, the warships charged towards the port of Shiloh on the sea shrouded in darkness.

The sharp corner of the bow cut through the sea surface as fast as a galloping horse and faster than lightning. In an instant, the sea was rolling with waves and filled with murderous aura.

Obed stood at the bow with his legs apart, leading the charge. The warships on both sides were full of members of the Azd tribe, wearing Tang army leather armor, holding iron-wrapped shields, wielding sharp swords, each of them was inexplicably excited and roaring.

The natives, who usually only used stone axes and bone arrows to fight, had never been equipped with such good weapons and fought such a rich battle? At this moment, I felt that my body was full of strength. I was not afraid of any strong enemy. I was just waiting to charge, engage the battle, and then crash into the enemy ship, jump onto the enemy ship from the side, and chop the enemy into meat sauce and tear it into pieces.

There was wind on the sea, the sails were inflated, and more than a hundred warships were like galloping horses and as powerful as thunder. The distance of dozens of miles was gone in a flash.

The Arab navy at the port of Shilof had just received news from scouts monitoring the Tang army that the Tang army had begun to attack, and then they saw the Tang fleet approaching from afar like a wall of dark shadows under the reflection of the stars and the moon on the dark sea in the distance. They hurriedly lit bonfires on the boats to sound the alarm, and for a moment the entire port of Shilof was in chaos with people shouting and horses neighing.

The reinforcements from Wuci Port that had just arrived had not yet had time to form a battle line and could only follow behind the navy from Shiluofu Port, while the warships at the front were positioned one by one, to avoid being cut off from their battle line by the Tang army's charge.

Abu Awal, wearing a helmet and armor, sat on a flagship that was more than ten feet high and ten feet wide. A strange and ferocious animal head was carved on the bow. There were windows on both sides of the ship, and densely packed oars extended from the cabin, like a centipede.

After hearing the battle report that the Tang army was about to arrive at the front, he estimated the time and sighed to Buser who was standing beside him: "The Tang army's warships are too fast, probably because of their strangely shaped sails. The speed of their charge is even faster than our full-scale rowing. Fortunately, we are at the port to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. If the two armies met in the open sea, we would only be beaten and would not even be able to catch the enemy's shadow."

Naval battles are extremely dependent on the speed and flexibility of warships. Once the speed lags behind, they can only passively take the beating. Even if the ship is huge and carries more soldiers, it is like a lion being torn apart by wolves, and will be eaten away bit by bit.

Not to mention that the Tang people's ships were bigger. The flagship "King of Wei" was enough to crush all the warships that Abu Awal knew. It was simply a mobile fortress on the sea. In his opinion, it was impossible to be sunk...

Buser shook his head and said, "In my opinion, the biggest advantage of the Tang army is not the speed of the ships, but the firearms equipped on their ships. Although we have only heard of them but have never seen their power, since the Tang army can rely on firearms to prevail in the East and South Seas, the power of firearms is obvious."

When two armies are fighting, the most terrifying thing is not a powerful enemy, but the unknown. No matter how powerful the enemy is, you can gain the advantage through targeted deployment and win. But if you don’t even know what the enemy’s greatest advantage is, what chances of winning do you have?

However, the governor and Ibn Atat were determined to fight, and he could not say too many negative words. Not only would it fail to dissuade the two from changing their minds, but it would also only annoy them.

Anyway, with his surname, there would be no worries of being held accountable even if he lost the war in this country, so he could just let them do whatever they wanted. If they won, he would also have a share of the credit. With some family activities, perhaps he could be transferred to a relatively poor province as governor in the near future...

……

Standing at the bow, Obeid felt the salty sea breeze blowing in his face, stared at the fleet formation of the Arab Empire with bonfires in the distance, drew out his sharp sword and raised it high, roared with eyes wide open and teeth gnashing, "Follow me to charge, no one can retreat, as long as we can break the enemy's formation, we will win half the battle, for the sake of the tribe, fight to the death!"

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

The Azd tribal soldiers on the boats on both sides raised their arms and shouted, ready for a desperate charge.

Then, when Obed turned around inadvertently, he saw figures on the Tang army warship behind him. The gun covers on the bow were lifted up to reveal the thick gun barrels. Some people were adjusting the angles, and some were loading ammunition. Then, he saw a bright light in front of his eyes, and a flame shot out from the muzzle. One after another, the shells passed over the heads of these vanguards, dragging an orange-red trajectory to draw a beautiful arc and landed in the enemy's neat formation.

boom!
The dark sea surface was ignited in an instant.