Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 229 Prepare for a rainy day

?

Liu Ye continued, "Since land warfare is not feasible, only naval warfare remains. Although searching for the Dutch fleet on the vast ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack, it's not as dire as Vice Commander Gao makes it out to be. The Dutch have already declared war on the Ming Dynasty, and for the sake of trade rights, they will not easily give up this war. Therefore, finding a hiding place is not difficult—first, it cannot be too far from Zhongzuo, so that they can launch a surprise attack at any time; second, it must have sufficient water and food supplies. There are not many places that meet both of these requirements, only a few islands such as Kinmen and Penghu. As long as we send people to search carefully, we will surely find their clues." In fact, these analyses were proposed by Li Fei at the staff meeting, which Liu Ye borrowed.

This analysis was well-reasoned and supported by evidence, and even Gao Yingyue, who advocated land warfare, could not find a reason to refute it.

Zheng Zhilong clapped his hands and cheered: "General Liu is right. As long as we keep an eye on these places, I don't believe we can't find them."

Zou Weilian nodded repeatedly: "That's right. With the vision and mind of Lieutenant General Liu, coupled with the naval forces of Lieutenant General Zheng as the vanguard, and with all the officers and soldiers here fighting with their lives, I do not believe that the British have three heads and six arms. The Ming Dynasty will surely win this battle!"

Zhang Yongchan and other military generals shouted together, "The Ming Dynasty will surely win!" The atmosphere was enthusiastic, and there was a strong sense of determination to never return until Loulan was conquered.

At that moment, a guard came to Liu Ye's side and whispered a message. Liu Ye's eyes lit up. The inertia of history was indeed powerful. Even with his involvement, the Dutch had made the exact same choice as in the original history.

He stood up and said loudly, "Congratulations, Your Excellency! I have just received some very good news!"

The shouts stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes turned to Liu Ye.

Zou Weilian asked in bewilderment, "At this moment, what could be better news than defeating the red-haired man?"

Liu Ye smiled slightly: "With this news, defeating the Red Hairs is not far off. I have just learned that the main fleets of both the Red Hairs and Liu Xiang are currently anchored in Liaoluo Bay, Kinmen!"

Zou Weilian was overjoyed upon hearing this, while Zheng Zhilong stood up abruptly and pressed, "Is the news true? How did you obtain this information?"

Liu Ye's smile remained unchanged: "Guerrilla Zheng, don't ask where the intelligence came from. Everyone has their own connections, you should understand. If you don't believe me, you can send spies to Kinmen to check it out."

Zou Weilian made a decisive decision: "This matter is of great importance. To be on the safe side, Guerrilla Commander Zheng should send someone to verify it. This matter should be handled as soon as possible to avoid missing the opportunity!"

Zheng Zhilong clasped his hands in a salute: "Yes, sir. I will immediately dispatch the men." In his heart, however, he was thinking that if this news was true, it would be extremely advantageous to him. The Zheng family's naval warfare relied heavily on fire ships and boarding maneuvers. The relatively enclosed harbor was naturally far superior to the vast open sea, diminishing the Red Hair fleet's advantages of high maneuverability and firepower, while allowing the fire ship tactics to be fully utilized. Unexpectedly, after he transferred the fleet from Kinmen back to Zhongzuo, the Red Hair had played a trick on him, hiding right under his nose. Despite his efforts to search for the enemy's tracks, they had been hiding right under his nose.