The sea outside the Lisbon port is vast, and the waves in the Atlantic Ocean are much rougher than those in the Pacific Ocean. Accompanied by biting cold winds, giant ships are heading straight towards the Lisbon port in the sea.
Thirty-six warships, including thirty Ming warships and sixteen Spanish warships, formed a formation on the sea with majestic momentum, like a pack of wolves roaring through the mountains and forests.
On the masts of the thirty Ming warships, the Ming dragon flag fluttered in the wind, making a hunting sound, and seemed to have the momentum of thousands of troops. The Spanish warships following the Ming warships were much smaller, with cross flags and cross flags hung high on them.
Spanish flag.
"Are we overestimating ourselves? Can these thirty-six battleships defeat Portugal?"
"Lisbon is the other side's home base after all."
Jiang Liang stood on the deck and looked ahead. He could vaguely see the outline of the land. Spain and Portugal were too close to each other. There was no need to set off from the Port of Cadiz to Lisbon.
How long.
Beating Portugal first was a decision made after discussion.
The Ming fleet is responsible for attacking Portugal's capital Lisbon from the sea, while Spain is mainly responsible for attacking Portugal from the road, attacking by waterways, and preparing to take Portugal first in one fell swoop.
"What are you worried about?"
Tian Erniu asked with a smile.
"Portugal is a small country despite its small size and weak national power. However, Portugal's maritime power is very powerful, second only to Spain and much more powerful than the English pirates."
"Lisbon is the opponent's capital, and it is also a large port with many ships. If we want to win with just these dozens of warships, it will be too risky."
Jiang Liang thought for a while and said, he has been to Lisbon and seen the ships parked in the Lisbon port. Although it is not as good as the Tianjin port in the Ming Dynasty, it is still a prosperous port with many ships. With a little modification, it can be turned into a warship.
Come and fight.
"Of course I know~"
"But Mr. Liu said something to me."
Tian Erniu nodded slightly. Although Portugal is a small country, its maritime power is not weak and deserves attention. Moreover, this is a country that is working hard to enter the ocean from top to bottom.
"What words?"
When Jiang Liang heard this, he immediately asked.
The Mr. Liu mentioned by Tian Erniu is naturally worthy of Liu Jin. Today, he is the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Tian Erniu has been a nobleman in his life. If he had not met Liu Jin, Tian Erniu would not know how to farm in that corner.
"The range is truth, the caliber is justice!"
Tian Erniu read it out softly.
"Range is the truth?"
“Caliber is justice?”
When Jiang Liang heard this, he thought about it carefully and said, "This seems a bit like something only Europeans can say, but I like it."
"Dang~dang~"
While the two were chatting, the lookout on the mast sounded the alarm.
"Enemy ship~"
"There's an enemy ship right ahead!"
When the two heard this, they quickly picked up their binoculars and looked forward.
When the water and the sky meet, I can see the looming figures of ships one after another. There are very many ships, hundreds of them, cutting through the waves and heading towards me in a triangular attack formation.
"Send the order and prepare to fight!"
Without any hesitation, Tian Erniu immediately issued the order to fight, and soon the flag carriers on the battleship quickly conveyed the message to the surrounding battleships.
"Report, the people of Ming Dynasty have issued an order to prepare for battle!"
On the 'Saint Mary', Carlster and Almeida were chatting happily. They were the commanders of the Spanish fleet and were responsible for commanding Spain's only sixteen remaining warships to cooperate with the Ming fleet to attack the Portuguese.
"It seems our allies have discovered the enemy."
When Carlster heard this, he immediately laughed excitedly, then picked up his telescope and looked at the sea ahead, and soon saw the Portuguese warship.
"Ready to fight!"
Carlster roared angrily, and immediately the Spanish sailors on the battleship began to scream, and everyone on the deck waved the ropes in their hands, which had hooks on them.
At this time, the Spanish and European navies, pirates, etc., were still very popular in naval battles by using hooks and claws to attract the opponent's ship, and then landing on the opponent's ship to fight.
(This method is mainly because the artillery at this time is not powerful enough, and the power of the artillery is not enough. Often a warship is hit by dozens of shells and nothing happens.
Fighting in this way was more efficient, but it was not until more than half a century later, when the Spanish Armada was buried in the sea by British pirates using rapid-fire cannons, that this method of fighting was eliminated.)
"Fuck these Portuguese sons of bitches~"
"I heard there are some English pirates~"
"Then let's send them all into the sea to feed the sharks."
"Yeah~"
The Spanish sailors on the battleship seemed very excited and were looking forward to the next battle.
"Report~"
"The people of Ming Dynasty ask us to disperse and attack in a crescent moon formation!"
At this time, the semaphore soldiers came to Karst and Almeida again to report.
"Crescent formation attack?"
When the two of them heard this, they were slightly dumbfounded.
The crescent moon formation is a relatively dispersed formation, and it is also a typical formation in which more people attack fewer people.
But judging from the current situation, the enemy has hundreds of warships, while our own side only has thirty-six warships. This obviously feels like a snake swallowing an elephant.
Moreover, what the Spaniards are best at now is follow-up battles, and are not good at using artillery to sink the opponent's warships, so they do not understand Tian Erniu's intentions.
"What the hell are the Ming people doing?"
Almeida said very puzzledly that by adopting the crescent formation, the Portuguese can make full use of their numerical advantage. When the time comes, one ship will have to face several ships, and it will be easy to lose in the follow-up battle.
Suffering.
"I don't know either~"
Karst shook his head slightly and said.
Although he had hunted down pirates with the Ming Dynasty people, it was a battle between a few warships after all. This was the first time for him to fight with the Ming Dynasty people in such a large-scale naval battle.
"Then do you want to follow their orders?"
Almeida thought for a moment and asked.
"No need, let's follow our fighting methods. I just want to see how powerful the Ming people are."
Karster thought for a while and shook his head slightly. He instinctively rejected the unfamiliar combat method, and it was not conducive to the Spanish warships to show their strength.
On the other side of the sea, more than a hundred ships were equally menacing and mighty.
"Dang~dang~"
As the lookout sounded the alarm, the Portuguese also discovered the Ming warship.
"Huh~"
"It's finally here!"
Da Gama took a deep breath and looked at the sea ahead. He could vaguely see the shadows of some battleships. The weather was still very good, the sky was cloudless, and the waves in the Atlantic Ocean were not very big.
"I have long heard that the artillery of the Ming Empire was very powerful, and I finally have a chance to learn about it."
Next to da Gama, Andrade looked very excited. He is a member of the Portuguese royal family and the commander of the fleet in front of him. He is also an extremely proud Portuguese.
"Da Gama, how did you fail in India?"
After speaking, Andrade turned to look at Da Gama and asked.
"...I can only say that the Ming Dynasty's artillery has a very long range, a very powerful power, and a very fast rate of fire."
Da Gama didn't know what to say. As a loser, he felt that he had lost his dignity.
Originally, he was an extremely experienced navigator and a robber who traveled the sea all year round. He was very good at sea combat. Logically speaking, he should be allowed to command the battle. However, the King of Portugal asked Andrade, who had little experience, to take command.
In such an important battle, he was only a second-in-command, which is enough to illustrate this point.
"artillery?"
"If we just rely on artillery, I think we still have a chance to defeat them."
After Andrade listened, he looked at the Ming warships in the sea ahead that were gradually changing their formation, and immediately said confidently.
Like Spain, the Portuguese's maritime combat method at this time mainly relied on follow-up combat, using ropes, masts, hooks, etc. to climb to the opponent's warships to fight.
Andrade felt that his side had an absolute advantage in the number of warships and people, and it would not be difficult to defeat the opponent.
"Send the order~"
"Go forward at full speed, quickly approach the opponent's ship, use the muskets and swords in your hands to teach those Ming people from the east a lesson, and let them know how powerful we Portuguese are."
Andrade pulled out the sword in his hand and roared angrily at the sailors on the battleship.
"Wow la la la~"
"Kill~"
"Come on~"
When the Portuguese sailors on the battleship heard this, they immediately shouted excitedly.
Soon, the Portuguese warships began to raise all their sails one after another. The sails were swollen by the sea wind, and they rushed towards the Ming fleet at full speed.
As the distance between the two parties gets closer and closer, each other can understand each other clearly.
"Haha, twenty Ming warships and sixteen Spanish warships are actually using a crescent attack formation. Do you think they can surround us with just thirty-six warships?"
Andrade carefully counted the enemy ships on the sea, and immediately couldn't help laughing.
Looking at the more than a hundred battleships behind him, he seemed even more confident.
Such a dispersed formation is very conducive to one's own side's battle. As long as a few ships are close to the opponent's warships, the follow-up battle is almost certain to win. If there are more and fewer, the advantage can be fully exerted.
If the formation is too dense, it will be detrimental to one's own operations, because battleships at sea are no better than legions on the road, and battleships are far less flexible than individuals.
"Dong~dong~"
However, Andrade didn't have time to be happy for a long time. Along with the rumbling roar, billowing white smoke rose from the Ming warships in the distant sea, and cannonballs roared towards the dense group of Portuguese warships.
