The Roman fleet sets sail.

The hot weather could not stop Crassus and others from their determination to fight Qin.

Time is running out. Crassus has waited too long. In order to learn about the movements of the Qin fleet, he had to pay a large price to bribe the indigenous fishermen near the Dardanelles. Now the rewards are coming. This is no wonder Crassus,

War supervisors came from Rome one after another. Facing the Qin alliance forces that were pressing hard on the land battlefield, Scipio was even more eager to open up the situation at sea.

Compared with the mainland, which is rugged and mountainous and has difficult roads, although the sea journey is troubled by storms and hurricanes, it is more advantageous in that it can take the enemy by surprise and inflict heavy losses on the enemy.

If the Roman fleet could defeat the potential Qin fleet, even if Scipio was beaten to only a corner of the Apennine Peninsula, he could still rely on the fleet's long-range delivery capability to turn over and stand on the long Mediterranean coast.

It is impossible for the Qin State to fortify every step of the way, and every port is heavily protected. The Romans can completely send a surprise force to the rear of the Qin State through the fleet, and then attack the supply lines, capture important towns, and kill the soldiers at the post.

——.

Kitti Island.

Two thousand years later, its name was Cyprus. This large island located between the Anatolian Peninsula and the Greek Peninsula was an important link between the Jewish port of Haifa, the Greek island of Crete, and the Bosphorus Strait. The Roman fleet

Heading east from Athens, your destination is the waters of Kitti.

According to the scouts' information, after leaving the port of Troy, the Qin fleet sailed along the coastline of the Anatolian Peninsula to the Bay of Beirut and Haifa Bay on the east coast of the Mediterranean. From this route, Crassus judged that this

The Qin fleet was going to sea to practice its long-distance navigation capabilities. At the same time, it was afraid of being intercepted by the Roman fleet, so it chose the route as close to the coast as possible and never went a step deeper into the sea.

what to do?

Are you watching your old rival slip away under your nose? Of course Crassus refused. Being familiar with the sea conditions in the Mediterranean, he quickly judged the best interception location-Kiti Island. This is located in the sea.

The large island not far from the east coast is the place where the Qin fleet must pass. Crassus is preparing to launch a battlefield in the waters around Kitti Island. He wants to make the Qin fleet sink into the sea forever.

Is the destination of the Qin fleet really Haifa Bay? Did Gan Yong's avoidance of war by sailing along the coastline really frighten the Romans?

Of course it's not.

Kitti Island is just a trap left by Gan Yong for Crassus. That's right. The sea here is vast, the winds are high and the waves are strong. For the Romans who have experienced naval battles for a long time, they have the advantage of good location and time, but Crassus ignored it.

Unfortunately, this place was too far away from the mainland of Rome, and what was even more unfortunate was that the Roman fleet that had hurriedly set off from Athens was seriously short of supplies, which meant that the Roman warships were in a tight state of drinking water and food.

Saidi, the dark side of the Qin Dynasty, successfully used his identity as a tavern owner to gain the trust of Crassus. Since several wooden barrels filled with seawater were placed in the innermost part of the cabin, nearly one-third of the drinking water and food could not be used.

Utilization. This is something the Romans never thought of.

Of course, if it is just a small move, the Qin army will win with no force. The pirate leader Greer was lured into the port of Crete by a Greek caravan. The Romans generally believed that it was not that the pirate fleet was inferior in combat power.

It's because the Orientals are a despicable and shameless people.

This time, with the help of new weapons and new tactics, the Qin fleet led by Gan Yong had high morale among the officers and soldiers. They were eager to have a sea cavalry showdown with the Romans.

——.

Lei Bei's left fleet has a total of five warships, including one trireme, three sloops, and one supply ship. Compared with Gan Yong's Chinese army, which has more than ten large warships, it has eight large warships.

The small and medium-sized warships were on the right side of the fleet, while the Qin Navy's left side was a bit weak.

Lei Bei didn't care about this. There are advantages to having fewer battleships. In terms of turning and speeding up, Lei Bei's fleet was the fastest among the three Qin armies. Therefore, his ship was also the first to arrive at the base.

Ti Island area.

The sun beats down on the sea.

The olive oil on the deck has been dried to a thick layer of oil. Walking barefoot on it feels like the skin is about to be torn off. In the observation cabin under the mast, Lei was sweating like rain.

Underneath, the thin armor on my body was wet and dry, and dry and wet again. It was extremely uncomfortable to stick to my back and chest.

"General Lei, the enemy fleet has been spotted about fifteen nautical miles ahead on the left!" The Qin army scout responsible for reconnaissance of the enemy shouted down from the mast. In this era without telescopes, the most suitable method for reconnaissance of the enemy is to use eyesight.

The good soldiers climbed to the tall masts and looked down from afar.

Fifteen nautical miles.

At this distance, if there is a favorable wind, the enemy fleet can catch up with Lei Fei's fleet in about an hour. If there is a headwind, the time will be uncertain. It mainly depends on which oarsman on both sides is more powerful.

"Give the flag to the main fleet in the rear. We have discovered the Roman fleet and are now preparing to penetrate the enemy to the northeastern waters of the island. If everything goes well, the fleets will meet in the southern waters of Kitti Island." Lei was ordered in a deep voice. After the sea battle,

After the baptism, the young Jianghuai hero Lei Fei was like a tiger out of nowhere, eager to prove himself through victory on the battlefield.

Divide and attack together!

Whether it is at sea or on land, the test is the tacit understanding between friendly forces. The three armies on the left, center and right of the Qin fleet are advancing in a Zigzag pattern. According to normal combat procedures, the Lei Sui fleet now needs to quickly attack Gan Yong's

The main fleet moved closer, and then openly and openly launched a fight.

Use cunning.

It can only happen once in a while, and the final method of naval battle depends on the strength of each party. Da Qin's three fleets decided to fight the Romans in the northeast area of ​​Kitti Island.

——.

"General, the Qin ship has been discovered. In the northwest, are they fleeing?" In the other direction, the Roman fleet finally found its target after searching and waiting for a long time.

"Go after them and don't let them escape? Bastard, shameless and despicable bastard——" Crassus said with a pale face, holding up his trousers and gritting his teeth.

Chapped lips due to lack of water and a painful stomach made the Roman admiral miserable. Fresh water turned into seawater, and food rotted and deteriorated. This series of misfortunes made him feel extremely bad.

However, for the next confrontation with the enemy fleet, Crassus is still confident of winning. The warriors of Great Rome have been crossing this sea for several generations. The sailors and soldiers on the fleet are also their ancestors and fathers.

Born as a sailor and living on a ship since childhood, this innate ability is not something that the people of Qin can surpass after just one or two years of practice.

Bastard!

Crassus was not the only one who was angered by the endless tricks of the Qin people. All the Roman fleets were devastated by their drinking water being diverted and their food being contaminated. They were in a state of anxiety and gradually began to lose control under the pressure of hunger and thirst.

Lost his due calmness.

——.

August 23, noon.

The sun that burns the skin shines straight on the sea surface. Not even a feeding seabird can be seen in the low sky. The algae organisms floating in the sea huddle tightly together, desperately absorbing nutrients from the sunlight through photosynthesis.

, to speed up metabolism.

For these lowest creatures in the ocean, the competition for survival every minute and every second is extremely cruel. Once new branches and buds are not born, the old roots and branches will lose their supply and become the ocean.

A delicious meal for microorganisms and small fish.

"Dong, dong dong!"

War drums beat like thunder on a sunny day. On the endless sea, one behind the other, the two fleets were chasing and fighting each other.

"Creak, boom!" A crossbow installed on the stern of the fleet was full of ribs. Under the firm gesture of the checker, the thick crossbow arrows were like bullets coming out of the barrel, heading toward Cheng Yanxing.

The pursuing Romans flew out in formation. After an hour of pursuit, the distance between the Roman fleet and the Qin fleet had been shortened to 300 steps. With just a little more force, the brave soldiers of Rome could insert their javelins into the Qin people.

in the chest.

"what is that?"

"Quickly, turn the helm and avoid!" the Roman soldier in charge of the lookout on the flagship shouted. Hearing the lookout man's cry, the experienced flagship helmsman hurriedly turned the rudder tip while instructing the oarsmen to coordinate

Use the power of the oar.

Flagship turns.

Especially when traveling at high speed, this is a very dangerous action. If you are not careful, the ship will capsize. Fortunately, the operators on Crassus' flagship are all veterans. With their efforts, the flagship has been

The side of the ship quickly approached the sea level, while the other side was raised high——.

Captain's room.

Crassus had just laid down. After standing for a long time, he was unable to hold on under the unsatisfactory blow to his stomach. The sudden inclination of the ship caused Crassus' head to come into close contact with the wooden planks of the cabin. The Roman commander

A big bump suddenly swelled up on his forehead, which looked quite scary.

"Come on, come here, the general is injured." When the guard saw this, he immediately shouted in panic. As a slave owner, the people who served Crassus were his private property, and once the master was in a bad mood, they

Slaves were the ones most likely to be destroyed.

Sinking into the sea is a lucky result.

The most unfortunate thing is that the corpse was cut into several pieces, and the bloody corpse was hung on the mast, waiting to be eaten by seabirds every day until only a white skeleton remained.

After a while, the Roman ambulance soldiers who were responsible for the treatment began to stumble in. The sudden movement of the flagship caused the formation of the fleet following behind to become confused. The warships eager to avoid collisions struggled to find gaps. This made the entire fleet

The speed of the fleet slowed down.

The pursuit distance increased again.

On the bridge, Crassus, who was covering his forehead, was furious, but felt faintly uneasy in his heart. When did the Qin people possess such a powerful long-range weapon? If such giant crossbows could be fired intensively, then the entire Roman fleet would be destroyed.

Are they all going to die in the sea? (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!