Drake led the fleet towards the waters of Singapore. When the telescope could clearly see the city of Singapore, a dozen huge airships suddenly appeared in the sky. These airships kept throwing things into the sea. They searched the sea with telescopes, but found nothing.

Can't see.

Drake was a little puzzled, what are these Ming navy doing? At this time, they should see their battleships in the telescope.

"Advance at full speed and engage in a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty fleet off the coast of Singapore." This time, Drake planned to defeat the main force of the Ming Dynasty navy.

Singapore is a seaport city. Without the protection of the navy, it is almost like a piece of meat on the chopping board. You can chop it up as you like. Occupying Singapore opens the passage to the South China Sea. Occupying the South China Sea also cuts off the passage.

The overseas trade route of the Ming Dynasty.

As the British warships advanced, they quietly changed their battle formations. The latest and thickest armored HMS Normandie and HMS Edinburgh were at the center. The entire fleet was arranged in a line. This formation not only allowed the front and rear main guns to fire, but also

It can also exert the power of side-string small-caliber artillery.

Although these small-caliber artillery can't do anything to warships, they are still good at killing and injuring the personnel on warships.

"Discovered the Ming fleet, four armored ships, heading southeast!" The signal soldier suddenly shouted from the tower.

Drake quickly raised the telescope and saw four thick smoke pillars in the distance. It was obvious that the opponent had four ironclads. Drake was secretly glad that he had six ironclads in his hand, while the opponent only had

Four ships. Comparing the strength of the troops, I have a huge advantage.

Those flying airships in the sky were annoying, staring at him like falcons. But Drake had no choice. None of the guns on the warships could reach that height. He could only let the airships hover in the sky. Anyway, these things couldn't fly as much as the warships.

Come on, there is no harm to the warship except for surveillance. I just don’t know what they just threw into the sea. There is no floating object on the sea.

I have heard that there is a thing in Ming Dynasty that can explode underwater, but it was launched from a warship. Could it be said that it can also be launched from an airship?

"In horizontal formation, prepare to cut into the local military formation." Drake has been at sea for forty years and has extremely rich experience in naval warfare. When he defeated the Spanish Armada, he relied on the horizontal and oblique formation. As long as the warships cut into the local military formation,

The artillery on both sides can be fired to maximize the firepower on the warship.

The local fleet is cut into two sections and cannot exert its firepower. Although such a formation will lose the warships at the front, the subsequent warships will have full output. Losing one or two warships in exchange for the annihilation of the entire local fleet.

This exchange ratio should be said to be quite cost-effective.

The flagship quickly flew a semaphore, and other warships saw the semaphore and followed Drake's flagship Edinburgh to speed up the voyage.

The sun has risen, and the sea surface is shimmering with golden light. Six giant warships are sailing at high speed, emitting thick black smoke.

On the other side, the Ming fleet also accelerated its charge. Both sides were like knights preparing to charge, preparing to destroy the opponent's lead ship in the first round of charge.

The two armies are getting closer and closer, and the appearance of the other side's warship can be seen in the telescope. The gunners loaded the shells into the barrels, and the calculation soldiers nervously calculated the ballistics. Both sides are preparing for the first round of bombardment. If they can attack in the first round,

If you hit the opponent's warship in a round of bombardment, you will gain a huge advantage in the subsequent battle.

"Commander! Look!" At this most tense moment, the adjutant suddenly pointed at the Yorktown rushing ahead and exclaimed.

Drake raised the telescope, and his heart suddenly tightened.

The Yorktown's speed suddenly slowed down, and it seemed like it was trying to stop the ship.

"Damn it! What is that bastard Lawrence doing?" Drake was so angry that he jumped to his feet and cursed. If Laurence, the captain of the Yorktown, was in front of him, he would definitely take out his pistol and shoot this bastard.

"Oh! God! Commander, look, the Saxony has also stopped." The adjutant pointed at the Saxony, which was gradually slowing down in the distance, and felt a little panicked.

"The Saxony has also stopped?" Drake reacted quickly. This should not be the fault of Lawrence or the captain of the Saxony, Norman. There must be something wrong. Could it be that the boilers of the two warships broke down at the same time?

How is it possible? Although the two warships came from afar, they were inspected when they set out yesterday. The performance of the warships was very good.

"Oh my God! The Queen Elizabeth has stopped too."

Bad news came one after another, and Derek felt his heart sinking. He didn't know what tricks the other party used. Could it be that these Oriental people can do magic?

When the Irish also stopped, Drake felt dizzy.

The only ones that can still operate normally are his flagships Edinburgh and Nottingham. Just a moment ago, it was six ships against four, and he had an absolute advantage. But in an instant, he became two ships against four, and he became an absolute disadvantage.

.

Moreover, Drake still doesn't know whether his flagship and Nottingham will lose power like those four warships.

Li Xiu looked through the telescope and saw four enemy warships suddenly slowing down until they finally came to a complete stop. He was so happy that he almost jumped up!

"Deng Yongchang! If you win this battle, you will be the fucking captain of the Zhiyuan ship."

Deng Yongchang next to him was a little dumbfounded. Three hours ago, he was still a small signal officer. Three hours later, he was already the captain of the Zhiyuan ship. There were... in between, he counted on his fingers.

After a long time, he couldn't figure out how many levels there were. Anyway, this official was promoted so fast that he couldn't believe it was true.

All this stems from the idea he gave Li Xiu three hours ago.

Before becoming a signal officer, Deng Yongchang once served as chief engineer. He knows the transmission part of warships very well!

He came up with an idea and threw the fishing net tied with a balloon and steel wire into the sea. As long as the size of the balloon and the weight of the steel wire were adjusted, the fishing net would float about ten meters underwater.

The power for a warship to sail comes from the propeller at the back. As long as these fishing nets get entangled in the propeller, the propeller bearings can lock up. Without power, the ship will naturally stop.

A sailing warship and a parked warship are two different concepts. For Li Xiu, one is a moving target and the other is a fixed target. Of course it is more difficult to hit a moving target, but a fixed target is easier. The first shot cannot hit.

, and if you fail to hit after two calibrated cannons, the calculating soldiers can be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks.

It was originally a matter of treating a dead horse as a live doctor, but unexpectedly it turned out to be true. And as soon as it was done, four warships were destroyed. Li Xiu was so excited that he was incoherent. He was promoted! This is the most basic thing. From now on, Deng Yongchang will

To reuse.

Deng Yongchang never expected that he had an idea that not only changed a naval battle, but also changed his destiny.

Drake's vision went dark, and he knew that the cross-cutting tactic was useless. Two ships were facing four ships, and they would all be beaten into pieces if they were to cross-cut.

"Swim around them, protect them. Send a signal and let them troubleshoot quickly." Drake knew that this order was actually nonsense.

Even if he didn't issue such an order, the captains would try their best to restore power.

"Commander! Could it be something just dropped by those airships? I thought about it carefully. The things dropped by the airship are in this sea area." The adjutant held the chart, and he just marked it on the chart.

The position where the airship dropped the items now seems to coincide with the position of our own fleet.

"That means...! Damn it, get out of this sea area quickly." Drake quickly reacted. If the airship dropped something to cause trouble, then his warship would also be in danger. God knows when it would lose power.

Drake's reaction was not slow, but it seemed a little too late.

The Nottingham's propeller was also entangled in a fishing net with twisted steel wires. The propeller stopped turning and the warship slowly came down.

Seeing the last living force lying down, Drake had the urge to commit suicide. The warship lost power and was floating on the sea. This was a fucking target. The target ship would also move with the wind, but the armored ship didn't even have sails and could float.

Where to go?

Li Xiu would not give Drake a chance to commit suicide, and the Ming fleet sailed at full speed. The two sides were close to the firing range. When the computer soldiers reported that they were within range, Li Xiu decisively ordered to fire.

"Boom! Boom!" The 220mm triple front main gun made a deafening roar. The huge recoil caused the Zhiyuan ship to slide back more than ten meters. The gunpowder smoke emitted from the muzzle floated in the air like a black cloud.

.

The shells exploded huge water columns around the Edinburgh, and the helmsman of the Edinburgh struggled to adjust the steering gear. The huge warship snaked its way on the sea! It must be said that the quality of the officers and soldiers of the British Navy is very high.

Under such a blow, everyone remained calm in the face of danger. After calculating the trajectory, the gunners and operators actually started to fight back. A shell almost missed Zhiyuan's turret and flew past, and Li Xiu's heart "thumped".

The starting lineup is actually of this level. The English still have some wealth. The European naval power is indeed extraordinary.

"Concentrate your firepower and sink the one that moves." Li Xiu knew that as long as he killed this moving ship, the remaining ships would be the turtles in the urn. If he didn't want to be sunk, he would have to surrender. Capturing these five ironclad ships would be much better than sinking them.

Much more.

"Promise!" The herald quickly conveyed Li Xiu's order using flag language.

This time, not only Zhiyuan opened fire to bombard the Edinburgh. Laiyuan, Jingyuan, and Jiyuan all opened fire to bombard the Edinburgh, which was making a crazy counterattack.

The poor Edinburgh tried its best to maneuver, but no matter how it maneuvered, the shells in the area were too dense. The four warships ignored other ships and concentrated on attacking the flagship Edinburgh.

Soon, two large holes were blown out of the deck by two 120mm artillery shells. The soldiers with damaged pipes tried their best to extinguish the fire with water cannons. Water vapor soared into the sky and shot straight into the sky. Many people were drowned by the water.

Suffering from steam burns, I still held the water gun and sprayed it wildly.

While the damage control team was working hard to save the ship, a near-missed bullet was also hit on the side of the hull. What the hell, it was a near-missed bullet from the 220mm main gun!

Drake's body was so shaken that he jumped up, his head hit the ceiling of Jian Bridge, and then he fell heavily to the ground. The adjutants and staff officers around him hurriedly ran over to help the commander.

"Leave me alone! Go back to your jobs!" Drake struggled to break away from the support of his subordinates and shouted with his eyes wide open.

Although he knew that this naval battle was destined to be lost, he still wanted to safeguard the pride of the British Royal Navy in the end. Even if he died in a grand battle, he still had to drag an enemy to his back.

What a pity! The Ming army did not intend to give him such an opportunity. A 220mm front main gun shell penetrated into the front deck turret with a whistle.

"Boom!" Drake's head hit the ceiling again, and this time he almost fainted. After being helped up by the staff, he touched it and got a big blood bag.

The huge turret on the front deck disappeared, and thick smoke surrounded the Jian Bridge. Drake could not see anything. The stubborn old man immediately rushed out of the Jian Bridge and climbed up the ladder to the observation post.

Standing high, the sea breeze blew away some of the thick smoke. Drake saw that the entire front deck of the Edinburgh was shrouded in thick smoke. The people holding water pipes to put out the fire just now disappeared. Instead, from time to time, from inside the thick smoke,

Tongues of orange flames shot out.

The front main gun is finished! Half of the warship's main output has been killed. Whether it can kill the opponent forcefully depends on the rear main gun.

The rear main gun was constantly returning fire, but it was difficult for the two fists to defeat the four hands.

The Jiyuan ship fired its fourth main gun salvo. A 220mm main gun shell directly hit the rear main gun turret of the Edinburgh. You can see with the naked eye that the main gun was tightly wrapped in steel.

, the whole thing was blown up.

The thick barrel flew dozens of meters into the sky, and then hit hard into the sea, causing huge waves.

At this point! The only one that can still challenge the Ming Dynasty's navy, the Edinburgh, is considered useless.

"Damn, it's quite tough." Seeing that the Edinburgh was scrapped, Li Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

But just before these words hit the ground, the side deck of the Zhiyuan ship exploded with a "bang". Several soldiers who were preparing torpedoes were directly blown away, and smoke billowed from the side deck.

Fortunately! This is just a shell from a 105mm small cannon. If the shell had been fired more accurately and detonated the torpedo, it would have been enough to kill the Zhiyuan ship!

Li Xiu's face was a little dark. He didn't expect that he would be shot in the face just after he finished speaking.

"Jingyuan moves closer and uses torpedoes to sink the ship." Li Xiu was so angry that his head was smoking. He didn't expect that the British warships on the opposite side were like that and actually fought back. Li Xiu decided not to surrender to them.

opportunity, directly sinking to vent one's anger.

At this time, the Edinburgh was beyond saving, and the sides of the hull were seriously flooded. The hull sank seriously, and more than half of its power was lost. The front deck was only two or three meters above the sea level!
Chapter completed!