Waldo didn't know that when he led the first detachment to attack the Ming army's treasure ship, the other warships of the Ming fleet had already circled back to both sides of the United fleet, and their guns were aimed at the United fleet at a distance of more than 1,000 steps.
Warships from several other detachments of the fleet.
"fire!"
Hao Tong and Deng Zilong issued orders at the same time in two different places.
"Boom! Boom!"
The sound of cannons rumbled, smoke rose from the sea, and huge waves surged into the sky. Cannonballs exploded on the sea, in the air, and on the decks of ships, and dazzling flames suddenly enveloped the entire combined fleet.
"At what distance did the Chinese fire?"
The commanders of each fleet subconsciously asked the same question.
They remembered clearly that Waldo once told them that the effective range of the Ming army's artillery was 500 steps, and the shells had a certain ability to destroy ships, but it usually took three shells to hit in succession to sink a light ship.
However, what they saw now was completely different from Waldo's description. The Ming army's warships opened fire at a distance of more than 1,000 steps, and the shells roared in without any signs of decline. The power of the shells was far greater than that of Valdo.
To put it bluntly, it is much more serious. As long as a four-masted sailing ship is hit in the front by a cannonball, it will completely lose its combat capabilities. In serious cases, it is more likely to disintegrate and sink in an instant.
"Is this because the Chinese have improved their artillery?" Dick asked in surprise.
"No, Mr. Commander, it was Waldo who was deceived by the Chinese." Dick's staff officer Colin said that no one is a fool. This kind of military trick can only deceive people for a while, but not forever.
However, what the Chinese need is to deceive them for a moment. The fleets of European countries were easily fooled and fell into the encirclement of the Ming Navy. The Chinese are no longer afraid that the Europeans will know their strength. Because they have no
Plan to let the combined fleet return alive.
Go up to meet him?
All the commanders thought so, so they ordered their detachments to advance to meet the enemy. As long as they could rush to a place 500 steps away from the Chinese fleet, their Koufelin guns could hit the open ships, even if they could not
Achieving the purpose of destroying the ship can at least suppress the Chinese firepower.
However, the Ming army is not a gentleman. If you rush forward, I will retreat, always keeping a distance of 1,000 steps from you. Then I will continue to use long-range artillery fire to kill your ships.
The cost of gunpowder and shells is very considerable. Frequent firing of artillery will also consume the service life of the barrel, and the price of a barrel is also staggering. But at this time, all these considerations can only be put aside.
Aside from that, even if a salvo can only destroy one European warship, the gain is far greater than the cost. Su Hao had already made a statement before the war: Regardless of the cost, he would strive to eliminate the European naval power in Southeast Asia in one battle.
One ship, two ships, three ships...
The number of European warships that were sunk and damaged was rising by leaps and bounds, but the distance between the United Fleet and the Ming Fleet did not shorten significantly. The commanders of various countries began to be unable to bear it. Those who lit fires on the sea
The ships were all the capital they had brought from Europe across the oceans with so much hard work. It was so embarrassing for them to be thrown on the sea with no value like this.
Concentrate together and attack one place?
Such an idea was quickly implemented. The ships of the five detachments moved closer together despite the Ming army's artillery fire, then chose a suitable direction and began to charge as a group.
The combined fleet changed tactics. The Ming fleet responded immediately. The warships of the Ming army were equipped with high-power telescopes, and their judgment of the maritime situation was much more accurate than that of the combined fleet.
"Well done Hao Tong, you don't want to fight. Don't let Hongyi get close to you. We have to catch up with Hongyi and beat them hard behind their backs." Deng Zilong observed the enemy's situation on his ship and announced to his subordinates.
Order.
If someone has a God's perspective and can overlook the sea from the air, he will find that the situation on the sea is like a few agile matadors teasing a crazed bull. These matadors are naturally
Several detachments of the Ming army. And that bull is the European combined fleet with 100 warships.
The combined fleet moved south, and Hao Tong in the south quickly retreated to prevent the opponent from approaching. Deng Zilong's troops in the north caught up closely and used artillery to hunt the rear wing of the combined fleet. Seeing that Hao Tong had run away, the combined fleet
Turning around to attack Deng Zilong, Deng Zilong quickly left, but Hao Tong then killed another carbine and came up from behind the combined fleet.
Those gunboats converted from treasure ships and transport merchant ships have become a barrier that the combined fleet cannot break through. Because the load capacity is large enough, the number of artillery guns on these ships is large, and a single salvo can form a fire net on the sea. Any attempt to
Any ship that breaks through this fire net will be shattered into pieces.
"Mr. Waldo, we have been fooled. We can't win this battle no matter what." Kevin finally felt desperate. The range of the artillery was doubled, and such a battle could not be fought.
"However, if we retreat at this time, our losses will never be undone," Waldo said.
Kevin said: "Mr. Waldo, our losses are irreparable. If we continue to attack, it will only cause more losses."
Waldo looked up at the Ming warships that were out of reach in front of him, and then at his own warships on both sides that were hit by bullets and on fire. He sighed deeply and ordered: "Send a signal to Mr. Dick and request a retreat."
Dick is the commander-in-chief of this operation, and all actions must be coordinated through him. On his flagship, he saw the signal flag raised on the St. Mary's at a glance. He knew that the signal flag was
The meaning was to request evacuation. Before he could think about how to reply to Waldo, the British, French, and Portuguese ships all raised the same flag. Almost at the same time, everyone realized that this naval battle was impossible to win.
.
"Retreat!" Seeing that everyone had lost their fighting spirit, Dick made a quick decision and gave the order to retreat.
"Have the red barbarians retreated?" Su Hao, who was watching the enemy on the treasure ship, saw the enemy's movements. "Come here, fire the trumpet, inform General Deng and Hao Guerrilla that the enemy fleet is about to escape, and ask them to quickly pursue, intercept, and expand
Result."
The cannon sounded, and the Ming army's warships hung their sails and chased the fleeing United Fleet.
"The Chinese are catching up. Do you want to turn around and fight them?" Staff Colin asked Dick.
"We can't be fooled by them!" Dick said, "Once we turn back, they will run away again. Their purpose is to entangle us and then gradually eliminate us. Now that we have decided to retreat, we must not be reluctant to fight."
"Understood, but Mr. Commander, I suggest arranging some ships to stay behind to block the Chinese pursuit." Colin suggested.
Dick nodded: "You are right, come, hang up the signal flag, and order Waldo to lead his fleet to the rear and cover the retreat of the combined fleet."
The signal flag was hung up. Waldo, who had been following the entire fleet, saw the signal flag and became very angry: "Damn it! Dick, this bastard, actually wants to sacrifice us to hold back the Chinese."
"We cannot accept this order!" Kevin said, "If we stay, we will definitely be wiped out by the Chinese, and Dick and the others can take the opportunity to escape. If we can't go back, then our country's sphere of influence in Southeast Asia will definitely be destroyed by these dogs.
The bastards divided it up."
"Of course I won't stay." Waldo said, "Screw the United Fleet. They encountered a slight setback and ran away in a hurry. If I had known this, why would I have invited them to join the war?"
He had forgotten that he was the first to request a retreat, and that the reason why this naval battle turned out like this was entirely because he had been deceived by the Chinese and conveyed wrong information to the navies of various countries.
"Full speed ahead!" Waldo ordered to the sailors, and he pretended not to see the signal flag that Dick hung out.
Dick noticed Waldo's performance, but there was nothing he could do about it. The United Fleet was originally a ragtag group. If the war was won, everyone could discuss how to divide the spoils. Now that they were sure that they had lost, it would be a situation where they would all fly away when disaster strikes.
"boom!"
A loud noise sounded next to Dick's boat. Dick looked back subconsciously, only to see that the pursuer behind him was already 2,000 steps away from him, and he could hardly see clearly. Could it be that at such a long distance?
, can the Chinese also fire?
"Mr. Commander, look ahead!" Colin exclaimed, pointing forward with his hand, a look of fear in his eyes.
Dick followed Colin's finger and saw that directly in front of their retreat direction, a shadow of sails covered the sky and blocked their way. It was an unprecedentedly large fleet.
There were more than a hundred ships, including three or four huge treasure ships.
On those warships, the national flag of the red sun and yellow moon was flying. Dick knew that this was the flag of the powerful country called "Ming Dynasty".
All the ships of the combined fleet stopped, and the sailors and soldiers on board looked at the Ming fleet that suddenly appeared in front of them. Just now, they were beaten to pieces by more than 20 Ming warships, and now, in front of them is the Ming fleet.
Hundreds of warships, do they still have a chance to escape?
"Who is the commander of the fleet? Please come forward and answer!"
A small sampan left the Ming Fleet and sailed to the United Fleet. On the small sampan, there were several soldiers of the Ming Navy and a European missionary with red hair and a tall nose. The missionary spoke to the United Fleet in Spanish
Asking loudly, the small sampan swam among the many warships, and then under the instructions of each ship, it came to Dick's flagship.
"I am missionary Rust, and I am here to save you by God's will! The Ming Dynasty's invincible fleet has arrived, and it is impossible for you to defeat them. Now the only way out is to surrender to the Ming Dynasty!"
Shi said loudly to Dick. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!