Realm of Power

The Imperial Minister of Military Affairs Hu Keqili frowned, his fingers clenched the side of the ship, his eyes were extremely solemn as he looked back from the debris and corpses floating on the sea, and took a deep breath. "What the Commander-in-Chief means is that the Sea of ​​Mist As a natural dividing line between the southern sea of ​​​​Ero and the sea of ​​​​Aden, the people of Aden may have found a way to cross the sea of ​​mist."

"Besides this possibility, I can't find any other possibility"

Dostronkai nodded and said in a solemn voice, "After the Aden people abandoned the Port of Cornelia, the outlet of the inland sea, they not only burned all the ships that could not be taken away, but also directly destroyed all the ships near the inland sea." The four oasis areas were directly hidden 800 miles deep in the Aden Desert. In this case, it is impossible for any Aden fleet to appear in the inland sea area, unless the Aden people can enter the Eero River from the Sea of ​​Mist, and then from Entering the big river Inland Sea. "Dustelenko's voice paused, and he smiled bitterly. "To be honest, this is the possibility that I least expect to see. If this guess is correct, it means that this time we go south to attack the southern part of Hérault, there is a lot of chance. It is likely to encounter the Aden fleet. In other words, His Majesty's plan to secretly cross the foggy sea to attack the Gulf of Aden will not be implemented. Moreover, the environment in the southern part of Eero is said to be extremely harsh. If the army is trapped in it, it will be very troublesome. thing"

"And don't your Excellency Hu Keqili think that the princes in the south of Aero have stayed south of the capital of Aero for a little too long?" Dostronkai said suddenly with sharp eyes.

"The princes in the southern part of Ero are not unified, and no one is willing to be the main force in attacking the capital of Ero... It seems so." Hu Keqili was stunned for a moment. Although he was the Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire, he was in charge of the war in the south. Dijing was responsible for the mobilization of various armies, and he only had a rough idea of ​​the direction of the war, so he did not notice anything inappropriate in it.

"In this battle in the southern part of the empire, I led the imperial navy to the southern seas. What I saw and heard seems to be not entirely true. The princes in the southern part of Eero are indeed internally disunified, but they clearly have an army of 200,000, but they are only fighting in small quantities. , There is not even a decent attack, just a disunity that is really difficult to explain. In my personal opinion, I am actually more inclined to another way of saying it." Dust's voice stopped for a moment, and he stopped talking.

"Another way of saying it, did the Commander-in-Chief hear something?" Hu Keqili frowned slightly.

"I did hear some rumors that the princes in the south of Hero are not not attacking, but are waiting for the empire to move south, and they want to meet the south of the empire in the south of Hero." Dostronkai looked at the rippling sea level in the distance. , said in a solemn voice, "Since the end of the Holy Capital War of the Holy Order, there has been a saying in the south that no one can attack in the empire area. Defeating Your Majesty, there is absolutely no chance of winning against Your Majesty in an area controlled by the Empire. The Hokuriku nobles were overturned overnight on the Feizhe coast controlled by the Empire. Even with the fierceness of the Martin Liga people and an army of half a million, the same The Order State under the control of the Empire was strangled and destroyed by a small river, so the only way to defeat His Majesty is to go to non-Empire areas."

"Is there such a statement?" Hu Keqili raised his eyebrows and his face couldn't help but change. He was the number one person in the Imperial Army and a confidant of the Imperial Emperor. He followed the Emperor and fought countless wars. If Who knows His Majesty the Emperor’s combat style best, it is naturally Hu Keqili. The emperor is known as the first person in the mainland's strategic layout and the military god who is victorious in every battle. This is because the emperor never fights on unfamiliar battlefields, and every opponent who is played to death by the emperor is basically dragged into his own territory on purpose by the emperor. layout, which to some extent also confirms the authenticity of this rumor

It is impossible to defeat the emperor on the battlefield chosen by the emperor, but if it is not the battlefield chosen by the emperor, you may not be unable to fight with the emperor!

It’s just that the southern princes of Aero would not have thought of this. If there were people with such outstanding vision among the southern princes, they would not have been suppressed by the royal family of Aero for decades. Most likely, the source of these words comes from Aden. , the Aden fleet was able to cross the Sea of ​​Mist, which means that the southern princes of the Aero Empire may have joined forces with the Kingdom of Aden

It is conceivable that various military aids have come from the Kingdom of Aden, and even the Aden army itself has arrived in the south of Héro. A large net is opened there, waiting for the imperial army to fall into the trap. The climate in the south of Héro is harsh, and Two-thirds of the area is made up of loess and desert. If the imperial army plunges in unprepared, the possibility of encountering a disastrous defeat is extremely high!

Because just the logistics of the army is an extremely difficult problem

Although the northern part of Hérault has the most fertile land in all of southern Europe, it has only been a year since the religious regiment's rampage. Even if it recovers, to what extent can it recover? If you want to support hundreds of thousands of troops in combat, , a quick battle is fine, but a confrontation is completely impossible! Not to mention that the main force of the navy has to cross the sea of ​​mist, attack the Gulf of Aden thousands of miles away, and mobilize more than 80 naval warships and 260 transport ships. All of this requires huge material support. There are also three regiments of the Marine Corps that landed in the Gulf of Aden, with a total of 4,970 officers and soldiers, and a large amount of equipment, which were installed in a total of 87 large transport ships.

How can the northern part of the Hérault, which has not yet been restored, be supported? Hu Keqili asked Dostelenko to report the situation to the emperor immediately, and mentioned in the report that Aden might have joined forces with the southern princes of Eero. Dostelenko immediately sent a Dragon Tooth warship to rush as quickly as possible. To the back of the inland sea

"Your Majesty should be able to see this report in two days, but before that, we have to face a problem."

Dostronkai sneered. In fact, he didn’t just know about the possibility of the Aden people crossing the Sea of ​​Mist. It was just that there was no definite evidence, and the emperor’s military order had been issued. If at this time, the Imperial Navy reported a report from Aden People may have crossed the sea of ​​fog first, and the emperor's southward mission The war plan is an extremely dangerous report, and it is a naked slap in the emperor's face. However, if the Imperial Minister of Military Affairs Hu Keqili is involved, it is another matter. The effectiveness of the Imperial Minister of War and the Minister of the Navy to submit a letter together is definitely more effective than that of the Navy alone. It’s much better to submit a letter, and this is just a guess! The emperor would never punish the two of them together!

The storm finally came. Hu Keqili knew what the problem was without looking at Dostelenko's face. He was not a fool. There were so many unexpected things. The wind started to blow his ears. The sound was getting louder and louder, and big raindrops began to hit The coldness on the face at the beginning soon turned into a whip-like whip. Strong gusts of wind swept across the deck, easily blowing a twenty-pound wooden bench topsy-turvy, and all debris on the deck. Under the baptism of the violent storm, they fell into the sea one after another. The sails had long been lowered, and all movable supplies were fixed with thick ropes. The most experienced captain was at the helm.

"In a storm, the most deadly thing is not the wind or the waves, but the various debris on the ship. If you and I are still on the deck, we would be thankful that we didn't get smashed to death." Dostelenko walked up to He picked up the wine bottle from the corner of the cabin and took out a glass-colored wine glass from the wine cabinet.

The sky turned completely black. Even the huge dragon-class battleship was swaying from side to side under the blow of the huge waves, but the amplitude of the shaking was still within an acceptable range. As an important minister of the army, Hu Keqili was the leader of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Battlefields are common, but this was the first time he encountered a storm in the sea. He stood at the cabin window with bright eyes, watching the ropes on the deck outside the window that were blown like giant octopus tentacles flying in the wind, as if they were alive. Everything hit something and was whipped around,

"The Aden fleet was probably destroyed in such a storm. The difference is that they were unlucky enough to crash into the eye of the storm, while we were only on the periphery. When the storm passes, I believe more Aden hulls will be found. "The wreckage." Dostelenko took a sip of the rum in his hand with a leisurely expression. Even in the shaking cabin, he still stood firm, as if two His legs were completely nailed to the deck, as if he was not standing under the waves at this moment, but watching the scenery on a stable grassland. The waves were getting bigger and bigger, and the waves kept hitting the bow of the ship, and then shatteringly washed across the deck. Everything that could be washed away on the deck was swept into the sea. The waves were only two meters high at first, then gradually grew to three meters, and finally reached almost four meters. Huge waves hit the side of the battleship one after another, erupting with a powerful impact.

The heavy hull is like a toddler in front of a giant, and the tilt of the hull is even more than one-third.

Due to the heavy tonnage and huge size of the Dragon-class battleship, as long as the sails are retracted and the direction is corrected, although there are violent bumps, there is no danger. However, the smaller Dragon Tooth Battleship was not so lucky. Under the impact of the waves, they rose and fell, and they were the first to be hit by the violent storm. The violent storm that swept across the sea brought up huge waves, which hit them heavily. Almost every Dragon Tooth warship was basically soaked in the sea water. It was like a building block floating in the waves. One moment it was lifted up high by the waves, as if it was about to be sent up to the sky, and even the bottom of the ship was out of the sea; the next moment it was thrown down heavily, and it seemed that it had sunk into the sea, even the top of the mast. I couldn't even see it. It took a long time to surface, and my whole body was covered with flowing sea water. The auxiliary masts of some Dragon Tooth battleships were also broken. The broken masts were floating in the sea water, hitting anyone they encountered, making a violent banging sound, which seemed to beat everyone's heart.

The sky and the earth were filled with darkness, with lightning and thunder. An hour later, the sky outside began to lighten again, and the shaking of the ship became much smaller.

Dostronkai put down the wine glass in his hand. He didn't know if he had something on his mind. If so, Dostronkai suddenly raised his head sensitively and looked at the position of the lookout post. He happened to see the lookout post there. The top of the mast was constantly waving a bright red flag. He glanced around again and saw only the lookout posts on all the Dragon Tooth battleships located outside the fleet were waving small red flags violently. At this moment, Hu Keqili clearly felt that Durstrom, who had looked leisurely just now, Kai's aura completely changed. It felt like a ferocious beast waking up from a deep sleep. There was even a smile on Dustelenko's lips.

"Is this caught?"

"What's wrong?" Hu Keqili asked curiously

"It's an unexpected surprise, you'll find out later," Dostronkai said to Hukoqili as he walked towards the cabin door. After opening the door, his face became stern, and then he shouted coldly, "Inform all ships to prepare for battle!"

"Dang, Dang, Dang!" The piercing alarm sounded immediately, which was particularly harsh in the wind and rain that had not completely calmed down. The navy sailors who had been hiding in the cabin ran to their positions one after another. The fallen sails were quickly pulled up again, and the sea breeze poured in fiercely. The more than 20-meter-high masts of the Dragon-class battleships were imprinted with the Imperial Navy mark, and they immediately Huge hemispheres bulged out, which was the form of the ship's sails being fully expanded. When the huge dragon-class battleship began to move in at full speed, the sea surface was like a layer of rolling white circles.

"Ahead, in the upper left direction." Dostelenko's adjutant stretched out his hand and pointed in the direction.

Dostronkai raised the lookout glass in his hand and looked at the sea in the upper left corner. Amid the drizzle, more than a dozen warships with black sails quickly appeared, with bows rising like a crescent moon, and triangles pursuing speed. The fast sailing ship was so fast that it shot towards the Imperial Navy ship almost like an arrow off its string. The team rushed over. The shape of these sailing clippers was almost the same color as the previously discovered broken hulls, dark black. The first impression of a hull of this color was that of a pirate, but these black warships were obviously not pirates, because The mast of this warship is fluttering with blue and silver interlaced stars and moon.

"It's the Aden Navy, order the cannon boards to swing, and the gunners to prepare." With just one glance, Dostelenko made a judgment. The Aden Navy has really returned to the inland sea again, and it has appeared at the mouth of the Hérault River! As the order was given, the huge size of the Dragon-class battleship began to turn. At the same time, regardless of the impact of wind and waves, the three-story gun deck, which was like a dragon's scales, was opened. The gunners opened the portholes, and the gun muzzle of the Navy Thor was Pushed out from the inside, the dark muzzles began to rotate neatly towards the upper left corner. Around the Dragon-class flagship, eight Dragon Tooth battleships emerged from the waves like sharp swords. "Aden Navy!"

When Hu Keqili saw this scene, his pupils shrank slightly. He didn't expect that Dostronkai would really find the Aden people by chasing the storm. Although the Aden naval warship in front of him looked a bit broken, it should have been caught in the storm. He was damaged, but the moment he discovered the imperial fleet, the opponent did not choose to escape, but instead attacked! Hu Keqili took a deep breath. This is the home ground of the Imperial Navy. As the Minister of War, he just needs to watch. He stretched out his hand to wipe the rain from his face. In just a moment, the extremely fast Empire The Dragon Tooth battleship has already encountered the sailing clipper of the Aden Navy.

This is the Aden Navy that dominates the Gulf of Aden and once brought the southern waters of Central and South Africa under its control! Sure enough, there is some confidence! Hu Keqili murmured in a low voice that the Imperial Navy is the recognized overlord in the inland sea area. No navy of any country dares to confront the Imperial Navy. Perhaps only the people of Aden still dare to fight.

Boom, boom, boom, accompanied by bursts of thunder, the Dragon Tooth warships opened fire one after another. Bursts of bullets fell directly in front of the Aden navy, causing the waves to rise into water columns more than ten meters high. The bombs were almost missing. The power of the Aden Navy forced the warships to slow down. Booms and flames shot up into the sky. The Aden naval battleship that was rushing at the front was directly hit by the two dragon tooth battleships that cooperated with each other. The incendiary bombs inside exploded, and the Aden fast sailing battleship was immediately thrown onto the deck. All the belongings and the ship's deck were torn to pieces. The burning hull was rolling in the wind and waves, and small black spots kept jumping into the sea.

"Don't underestimate the people of Aden. Although the incendiary bombs of the Aden Navy are not as good as the Thors of our empire, they are still quite powerful weapons. In terms of sailors, the Aden Navy is not inferior to the sailors of our empire."

Dostronkai, who was next to him, said to Hu Keqili, his eyes still staring at the Dragon Tooth battleship that had been bitten in the distance. Hu Keqili suddenly felt a violent force coming from under his feet, and a huge roar came out. Coming out, Hu Keqili felt like he was standing in an erupting volcanic crater. The salvo of Dragon-class battleships and the huge counter-shock force even caused the huge Dragon-class hull to crash on the sea surface. It moved up and moved several meters horizontally to the side. The dense shells quickly raised a large number of water columns on the sides of the Aden sailing warships. Three sailing warships were hit and set on fire. The decks of the ships were violently blown into the sky and burned. The warships were also submerged by several large waves and disappeared under the dark sea. Their original positions were only debris and human corpses floating with the waves.

However, these Aden warships are still attacking desperately. The Aden people's incendiary bombs roared in a large area without showing any signs of weakness, and densely packed countless water columns rose up on the side of the Dragon Tooth warship, making the waves surge even more boiling. ,exist After losing several ships in a row, the Aden warship was like a flying bird, gliding past the Imperial Dragon Tooth warship, but its maneuverability was extremely flexible. The high-turned crescent bow avoided the attack like a flexible loach. The artillery fire was fired indiscriminately,

Seeing this scene, Hu Keqili's brows knitted together more and more. He didn't know much about naval warfare, but it didn't hinder his judgment of the situation. The Aden naval battleship in front of him looked more like a death attack than a charge. These Aden navy were either covering up something or covering someone's escape. Unfortunately, they found out a little too late.