Seven Seas Beacon Fire

When Emperor Yongle was still the Prince of Yan, he was competing with his eldest nephew for the position. During the years of the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Di faced danger many times, and was almost defeated in several battles. However, every time he reached such a critical moment, the wind would suddenly change.

Li Che is also waiting for the wind, but he's not waiting for the east wind that can be summoned through magic in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. What he's waiting for is the typhoon that always blows around this time of year.

Typhoons and the navy are often associated with bad outcomes. Whether it's the Fourth Fleet incident, the Tomozuru incident, or Halsey's two attempts to brave typhoons during World War II, even the steel warships built with current human technology seem somewhat weak in the face of such natural power. Facing typhoons still carries considerable risks.

However, for the fleet currently surrounded in Surabaya harbor, this risk is something they must face.

After all, although Li Che had gained considerable inspiration from Operation Thunder-Thurbrus, when the Leitanians planned Operation Thunder-Thurbrus, both of the Scharnhorst-class battleships were high-speed ships of 30 knots, a speed that none of the capital ships of the Royal Navy at the time could match.

(During World War II, the KGV-class ships actually had a top speed of only 28 knots. Later models, after adding various anti-aircraft guns and equipment, had a normal displacement of over 4 tons, so they could no longer reach 28 knots. Although the Renown was called the '29-knot Nelson,' it was still slightly slower than the Scharnhorst.)

However, most of the fleet in Surabaya Harbor probably can't even outrun the United States Navy's heavy armor. Without some "underhanded tactics," it would be a pipe dream for the warships in the harbor to return safely.

Suddenly, Li Che felt someone gently massaging his head with their fingers. In fact, this massage had been going on for a while, but he had been so absorbed in his own world that he hadn't noticed it at all.

When he turned around and saw who was standing behind him, the person who had just reached out to massage his temples, Li Che's face showed a clear expression of helplessness: "Mingzi, you don't need to do these things when you're with me. I don't need to be taken care of like this. Do you think I'm Jia Baoyu?"

Mingzi had clearly read *Dream of the Red Chamber*, but probably not much, perhaps only skimming through some passages: "Is Your Highness referring to the talented scholar in *Dream of the Red Chamber*?"

“A talented scholar? Jia Baoyu?” Li Che laughed disdainfully: “If Jia Baoyu were truly a talented scholar, the Jia family would not have fallen into ruin, and he would have been able to enjoy the blessings of having both Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu.”

After saying that, Li Che stood up and said to Tokugawa Akiko, "Akiko, I know that our two families have political motives in bringing you to my side. Of course, I am not saying that you have any ulterior motives. I think there is nothing wrong with this kind of political mutual benefit. It is just that it is destined to sacrifice your happiness and your own choices in life."

Unfortunately, I am not a truly courageous person, and I do need the Tokugawa Shogunate's help, so I did not refuse this arrangement, which is somewhat of a political marriage. But you can actually do some things that you like and are passionate about..."

Li Che originally intended to persuade this Sakura girl in the same way that Xun Ge'er persuaded his childhood sweetheart, but before he could finish his words of comfort, he noticed that the corners of the Sakura girl's mouth had already turned up.

???

No? Can someone tell me what this Japanese girl is so happy about?

What happy things came to mind?

Akiko Tokugawa was listening happily when she suddenly felt that Li Che had stopped talking before finishing his sentence. She looked up and found Li Che looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"You... seem to be in a good mood?"

"I... what I enjoy doing is being with Your Highness." After saying this with a flushed face, Tokugawa Akiko bowed and said, "Your Highness has been working too hard lately for the sake of the coexistence and prosperity of all East Asia, so I was a bit presumptuous to offer you a massage just now. It seems I have disturbed Your Highness's thoughts, so I will take my leave now!"

After saying that, Tokugawa Akiko lifted her skirt and disappeared from the house in a flash. The whole process left Li Che completely baffled. Based on his understanding of women—whether in this world or another—he didn't know how to match the thinking of this Tokugawa family's Japanese girl.

While I was looking at something and thinking, she came into the room to pour me some water. She didn't leave, but gently massaged my head. And just now she said that what she likes most is being with me...

Surely the princess of the Tokugawa family couldn't be a spy, right? But in Li Che's mind, such an action did seem very much like the hidden 50, because in Li Che's mind, love at first sight was unlikely to exist, right?

Meanwhile, in the corridor outside the door, which he could not see, Tokugawa Akiko was happily skipping and hopping towards Zhu Miaoyun's room, humming a cheerful Yingzhou folk song.

His Highness says he needs the Tokugawa clan, that's wonderful!

how to say?

As a time traveler, one is destined to often feel out of place because one's thinking is not outdated compared to those around them.

Chapter Ninety-Four: I Prefer Warships and Giant Cannons to Beautiful Women 2

Zhu Miaoyun now feels like she has high blood pressure after sharing resources online, only to be chased by a group of computer idiots who have been using mobile phones since childhood, asking her how to use magnet links, how to decompress compressed files, and even how to decompress files online in cloud storage.

"So you're happy because he said the Tokugawa shogunate was very important to him?"

Akiko Tokugawa nodded and said, "Of course, isn't this something to be happy about? His Highness the Crown Prince said that he now needs the help of the Tokugawa Shogunate."

“Isn’t this just treating you like a tool?” Zhu Miaoyun sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “And when he said he needed the help of the Tokugawa Shogunate, you immediately concluded that the Tokugawa Shogunate was very important to him… My God.”

"What's wrong with this?"

"Of course there's a problem!" Zhu Miaoyun spread her hands and said, "Even if the foundation of your relationship is a political marriage, shouldn't you two at least have some real interactions that can promote your emotional exchange? What did I tell you when I gave you extra help last time?"

"Which time?"

"It was last weekend."

“Oh, Your Highness, you seem to have said…” Tokugawa Akiko pulled a notebook out of her pocket, flipped through a few pages, and pointed to her neat handwriting: “Can men and women in the ambiguous stage quickly deepen their relationship by appropriately increasing physical contact?”

"That's right. The seemingly natural physical contact at this stage is actually a secret technique at the level of a finishing move. You know what a finishing move is? A trump card! It's like wiping a blurry lens with your hand, like gently piercing a thin window paper. But this finishing move isn't just about making contact and that's it. You have to solidify it, you have to deepen your memory of it!"

Tokugawa Akiko took a barely perceptible half-step back. She felt that the princess's tone of voice today was even more severe than that of the etiquette teacher she had met before leaving for Yingtian Prefecture.

Furthermore, the princess then said many incomprehensible things, such as "Why is Kirisu Mafuyu a god?" or "Learn from the lesson of the blonde loser".

Tokugawa Akiko didn't understand why Princess Yongning was so concerned about her relationship with the Crown Prince. With the limited understanding of Japanese girls in this era, they probably couldn't comprehend how Zhu Miaoyun treated her like a real-life galgame.

It's even more incomprehensible that a lonely soul adrift in this world, if she doesn't find something to do now, after being separated from her former friends, leaving the country where she grew up, cutting off all her past life and existence, and experiencing a kind of true social death, she probably won't be able to sustain her mental state if she doesn't find something to do.

"Forget it, I've given up on relying on your own practical skills. Since you're not good at it, you'll have to make up for it with equipment." Zhu Miaoyun pinched her chin and circled around Tokugawa Akiko twice before starting to touch and grope the Japanese girl's body for a while. Tokugawa Akiko had never experienced anyone treating her like this before. Even when she was in Yingzhou, the servants who helped her dress or the tailors who came to take her measurements never touched and groped her so openly.

"Not bad. Although you're not very tall, your proportions are surprisingly good. Compared to the short and stocky proportions of other Yingzhou girls, your wrists reach your crotch, and your legs are a meter long. You're more like a miniature version of a mature woman than a loli."

What loli? What mature woman?

Akiko Tokugawa found herself understanding less and less.

"Okay." Zhu Miaoyun snapped her fingers. "Now you need to wear some clothes that show off your figure better. First of all, it needs to be clothes that make your legs look longer. A modified version of the horse-face skirt would be good. Pay attention to the slits on the side of the skirt; they should be able to subtly reveal your legs. Yes, and you also need to wear high heels..."

"Ah, Your Highness, I think..."

"I don't care what you think, I care what I think!" Zhu Miaoyun interrupted Tokugawa Akiko's lament: "You haven't realized the seriousness of the problem yet. Li Che's grandfather is making lists every day in Yingtian Prefecture. Countless people are trying to send their daughters or granddaughters to this grandson's bed to protect themselves. Although you have some looks, there's no shortage of pretty girls in this world! You need to seize the opportunity now!"

"I........"

"Okay, listen to me! I've read 400 romance comics!"

"Um, although I don't know what comics are, I think you mentioned 200 volumes last time..."

"Then I remembered 200 more!"

-------------------------------------

"How confident are meteorological authorities that this year's hurricane in the Bharat Ocean will actually directly impact the Java Islands?"

In his own office, after receiving the latest weather report, Li Che immediately began comparing the possible hurricane paths with the meteorological department's forecasts on a map, along with several of his staff.

Just like Zhuge Liang borrowed the east wind before the Battle of Red Cliffs, they are now waiting for the wind, but of course they are not waiting for the east wind, much less the DF. If they could obtain the DFXX now, then the next step would be to make the whole world learn Chinese.

For places like Surabaya and Makassar, located south of the equator, typhoons forming in the southwestern Pacific Ocean generally do not cause much disturbance. After all, these typhoons are relatively weak when they form, and by the time they grow stronger, they have already moved northward due to the Coriolis effect.

Therefore, if you want to wait for strong winds, you can only wait for a hurricane to form in the Bharat Ocean.

However, compared to the Pacific Ocean, the hurricanes that form in the Bharat Ocean are relatively less violent, although this is only relatively speaking.

"Based on the current situation, a hurricane has indeed formed in the Bharat Ocean and is moving northeast. The only problem now is that we cannot determine where this hurricane will make landfall. For us, it would be bad if the hurricane is too strong or too weak when it makes landfall, and it would also be bad if it is too directly or too far off the coast." Xu Yueming marked the most likely routes of the hurricane on the map with a pencil: "It's because the ships in our port are a bit delicate."

Xu Yueming's words made everyone shake their heads. At present, the biggest problem is that the fleet in Sishui Port is a group of half-crippled wounded soldiers. Not to mention that the maximum speed of the entire formation can only reach 20 knots, there are many damaged ships in the formation, so it is not suitable to go to sea in extremely bad weather.

To cover the fleet's movements, they needed to wait for the hurricane to arrive, but it couldn't be too strong, otherwise the large waves would likely endanger the already damaged ships.

However, if the hurricane is too weak or makes landfall too far from Surabaya, it may not provide ideal cover, making it quite difficult to manage.

“Speaking of which, weren’t we originally planning to find a way to move the 39th Fleet away? As long as we move the 39th Fleet away, even if the winds in our fleet in Sishui Port aren’t ideal, we should be able to escape, right?” Chen Ce said.

“That’s not how it works. Although the foreigners have divided their main battle fleet into the 38th and 39th Fleets, it doesn’t mean that the 39th Fleet can’t be further divided.” Ling Xiao pointed to the location of Makassar on the map: “According to the information we have now, both the 39th and 38th Fleets have 12 capital ships. The 39th Fleet is of better overall quality. It has four warships equipped with 15-inch guns: Washington, Colorado, Maryland, and West Virginia. The fleet flagship is the third ship, the USS Washington.”

In addition, there were three super-dreadnoughts equipped with 14-inch guns: the fourth ship of the New Mexico class, the USS Ohio, and the third and fourth ships of the New York class, the USS Indiana and the USS Massachusetts.

Next up are five dreadnoughts, including the two Wyoming-class ships USS Wyoming and USS Arkansas, and the three Kearsarge-class ships USS Kearsarge, USS Kentucky, and USS Oregon. Even if our decoy operation succeeds, the 39th Fleet might not necessarily head north in its entirety. What if they only send a portion of their ships north? If they only deploy four 15-inch gunboats, the remaining fleet would probably still be able to suppress our weakened Surabaya Fleet, wouldn't it?

"Those foreigners are being far too audacious. They can certainly divide their forces and head north, but how can they be so sure that the fleet they leave behind can overpower the fleet in our port? Everyone knows that the Federation forces don't think our fleet can be fully restored, but to what extent they can be restored is something they don't know. If they divide their forces, are they really so confident that the few ships they have left can overpower the fleet in our Surabaya port despite being outnumbered?"

"What if? You can't possibly pin the success of our operation on whether the enemy will cooperate with us, can you?"

"That's not what I meant, but basic logic should be followed, shouldn't it? Could it be that...?"

"Alright, everyone stop talking." Akiyama, the oldest member of Li Che's staff, stepped in to smooth things over: "His Highness has been deep in thought since earlier. Why don't we all hear His Highness's opinion first?"

Chapter 95 I Prefer Warships and Giant Cannons to Beautiful Women 3

Looking at the list of the main combat ships of the Colombian 39th Fleet in the port of Makasi marked on the map, Li Che realized that he had been thinking a little too far ahead.

He was supposed to be considering the weather, and he tried to recall if he had any knowledge of the hurricane situation in the Bharat Ocean during this period in his other world. This was a habit of his; when faced with a problem he couldn't make up his mind about, he would always think about whether he had read any relevant information in his other world or whether there was anything he could learn from or refer to in that other world.

This has already become a kind of habitual way of thinking for him.

However, looking at the roster of the main warships of the United States of Colombia's Navy—some names were familiar, some were unfamiliar, some ships were almost identical to the warships of the Colombian Navy in another world, but some ships did not exist at all in that other time and space.

For example, among the capital ships of the Federation's 39th Fleet, not only did the four Colorado-class battleships not carry 16-inch main guns, but instead carried the Britons' 15-inch heirloom guns. Even the New Mexico-class battleships had an extra fourth ship, and the New York-class battleships, which originally only had two, also had an extra third and fourth ship. Not to mention the Kearsarge-class battleships, which in another timeline, the Federation only named one of them Kearsarge, the former Dreadnought.

Meanwhile, the Federation added the Kearsarge-class battleship between the Wyoming-class and the New York-class battleships. This class was not much different from the Wyoming-class, except that the side armor of the Wyoming-class was increased from 280 mm to 305 mm, and there were basically no other changes.

The Wyoming-class battleships also saw the addition of a third and fourth ship, which are currently in the 38th Fleet.

It's not surprising that the Federation started construction on more battleships than in the other world during the same period. After all, in the other world that Li Che traveled to, the early 20th-century Colombian Federation faced only a small island nation in the Pacific. Before the outbreak of World War I, the island nation actually only had two self-built Settsu-class dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser, Kongo, which it had just purchased from Britain. The other three sister ships besides Kongo were actually commissioned after the outbreak of World War I.

Therefore, for the Federation at that time, naval development was not urgent and there was no clear need for it. After all, the Yingzhou Navy at that time only had a few dilapidated ships and a bunch of garbage from the pre-dreadnought era.

However, in this world, the situation is completely different. After entering the 10th century, the Colombian Federation will face a fairly powerful Eastern empire. Since the size and strength of the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy is far greater than that of the historical IJN, the Federation Navy will naturally be able to iterate its ships faster and build more ships than in the other world.

Because these are two different worlds. Some things can be referenced, while others, even if referenced, may not yield results, and still others are simply impossible to reference.

For example, this damn weather. No matter how hard Li Che tried to recall, he couldn't remember any information related to the current situation or the weather.

Therefore, he naturally had no way to get any reference from another world in this regard.

He could also clearly hear the argument between his staff members.

“I think we still need to discuss this on a case-by-case basis.” Li Che began to speak eloquently: “First of all, naturally, if we fail to lure the enemy, then there is no need to discuss the rest of the operation. If we have gone this far, we can declare the operation a failure in advance. So what we need to discuss now is the success of the first phase of the plan to lure the enemy.”

From the perspective of the United States of Colombia, this means we've concentrated 12 capital ships to provoke the 38th Fleet. Do you think Colombia will send its 38th Fleet to fight us with equal forces?

The people present all shook their heads. In all their years on the high seas, since the retirement of the USS Constitution, the United States of Colombia has never had a case of winning with inferior forces. As far as the United States Navy is concerned, if they can fight with superior forces, they will never send a fleet of equal strength to confront each other.

In fact, although the United States Navy of Colombia currently divides its Third Fleet into two fleets, the 38th and the 39th, it has been prepared from the beginning for the two fleets to merge into a single Third Fleet in a critical situation.

In other words, as long as the enemy does not realize that eight out of the "12" capital ships are actually disguised ships, then the enemy will most likely have to mobilize the 39th Fleet. The question is, in the eyes of the Federation, is it necessary to mobilize the entire 39th Fleet, or is it enough to just take a battleship squadron from the 39th Fleet?

"According to the Lancaster equation, in terms of firepower, our enemy only needs to transfer four Colorado-class battleships from the 39th Fleet to the 38th Fleet to easily defeat us, who have '12' battleships." After saying this, Li Che suddenly remembered that although the Lancaster equation was proposed in the last few years, he could not recall the exact year it was proposed. This equation essentially uses ordinary differential equations to describe the process of annihilation of forces on both sides, which was considered a very cutting-edge theory in this era.

Given the speed of information exchange in this era, it is normal that a military theory that was only proposed a few years ago and was not very remarkable took several years to spread around the world. After all, the armies of various countries are generally conservative, and most countries' armies will not quickly and proactively absorb military theories.

People generally prefer to see if there are any brave souls willing to try something new.

Therefore, Li Che quickly looked at the expressions on the faces of the staff around him. Sure enough, half of these staff had never heard of the Lancaster equation.

In 15, British engineer Frederick William Lancaster first proposed using a system of ordinary differential equations to describe the process of annihilating opposing forces in his article "Airplanes in Combat," qualitatively explaining the principle of concentrating forces.

It was initially used to analyze the casualty ratio between the two sides during combat, but its applications have gradually expanded.

The Lanchester equations prove that, under equal combat conditions and with equal strength, in a battle between 1000 and 2000, after several rounds of fighting, the side with the numerical advantage only needs to suffer 268 casualties to annihilate the 1000-strong force. The Lanchester equations are particularly applicable to battles in modern warfare involving dispersed armies and long-range artillery deployments. Long-range battles, such as artillery duels, air battles, and naval battles, may very well present the ideal scenario described by the Lanchester equations.

He could only say that the speed at which officers in this era valued and absorbed technology was indeed not satisfactory to him. However, this was the case for officers all over the world at present. The kind of officers in his mind who were both technically proficient and had excellent professional skills were certainly not a rare find in this era.

"In terms of the pressure we can exert on the enemy's 38th Fleet, we cannot improve this further. After all, the number of our main ships in Cam Ranh Bay is a fixed number. Eight camouflage ships are already the limit. If we add any more, the enemy will immediately know that there is something fishy going on."

“That’s right. So I think besides putting more pressure on the 38th Fleet to induce the 39th Fleet to send as many ships as possible north, perhaps we can approach it from another angle, which is to reassure the 39th Fleet…” Chen Ce’s eyes darted around and he came up with a clever idea: “How about we find a way to lay mines outside Surabaya Port in front of the Federation people?”

"Bray?"

“Yes, I know there aren’t many mines in Surabaya Port right now, but there’s plenty of wood there. We can find a group of carpenters to make a batch of fake mines out of wood, and then find a way to drop them into the waterway outside Surabaya Port in front of the Federation, making it look like we’re going to hold out here to the end.” Chen Ce said excitedly, “That way, in the eyes of the Federation, we’ll be blocking our own way out of the port. But in reality, we can wait until the 39th Fleet is heading north with peace of mind, and then sail directly out of Surabaya Port. Anyway, it’s just a batch of wooden mines, we don’t even need to organize any mine clearance work.”

At this point, he clapped his hands forcefully: "Isn't this how it works? I don't believe the Federation people will still be uneasy after seeing us dropping mines into the main channel outside the port."

Chen Ce's ingenious idea made everyone present smile and nod in approval. In war, there are many seemingly absurd ideas like this that often achieve quite good results.

Just as they were having a lively discussion, there was a knock on the door. Li Che glanced at the clock and knew it was afternoon tea time. He figured it must be Akiko, the Japanese girl, so he casually said, "Come in."

As expected, Akiko Tokugawa pushed a small cart in. Today, the Sakura girl had specially chosen a modified version of the horse-face skirt. This kind of horse-face skirt and the top can clearly distinguish the waistline of women, making their legs look longer. Moreover, the slits on the side of the horse-face skirt will make a pair of beautiful legs appear and disappear when walking. It can be said to be a "man-slaying artifact" of this era.

Unfortunately, what hadn't Li Che seen in that other world? He'd seen all sorts of beautiful girls, doll-like older sisters who were even more alluring than Japanese girls, Mizumi, Rize, and so on. Therefore, he didn't even notice that this rather rudimentary method was any different from what he usually did.

"Alright, everyone, come over and have some tea and snacks to rest. Let's call it a day and head to the dock to see our 'good girls'!"

Chapter Ninety-Six: The Defense of the Eastern Capital (1)

For security reasons, the high points around the docks of Leizhou Port have been occupied by the military, and all places where the situation inside the port could be seen have been sealed off. Even the outer perimeter of the port area has been erected with long barriers to block people's view.

For the local people of Leizhou, they were already used to the various secrecy measures taken by the army during the war, except that the secrecy measures implemented in the past were not as strict as they are now.

After all, having the army blockade almost every hill in the area and erecting high barriers around the port not only keeps things secret but also sends a clear signal to the outside world—there is big activity in Leizhou Port and the Royal Navy is about to launch a large-scale operation.

In addition to these overt security measures, many Jinyiwei agents were disguised in plainclothes throughout the streets and alleys of Leizhou, keeping a close eye on suspicious individuals. All Jinyiwei were ordered to maintain surveillance and not to close in on suspicious persons unless they slipped into the sealed-off areas—that is, the high points.

These potential enemy agents are also part of our Crown Prince's plan.

Using appropriate means to allow the enemy's intelligence network to convey the information one wishes to the enemy is also an art in intelligence warfare.