Late at night, the roar of artillery woke everyone up.
Duke Taoglu woke up from his sleep and shouted: "What's going on?"
Since leaving Constantinople, he hadn't had a solid night's sleep for a long time.
The adjutant hurriedly ran in and said: "Your Excellency, the Duke, the port was attacked by enemy ships at night!"
"how many people?"
"We only saw a dozen ships, so we don't know the strength of the enemy yet."
"Hurry up, gather your troops and fight back!"
"yes!"
Taoglu put on his clothes and walked out of the room quickly. Several firelights flickered on the port in front of him.
The Ming army did not respect martial ethics and carried out sneak attacks!
"Come on, come on!"
"Your Excellency, please give me your instructions!"
"Call to Count Lyman to leave the port immediately. This Ming army cannot be let go!"
"yes!"
Taoglu was very angry. He had not suffered such humiliation since he left Constantinople.
When they stormed Ceylon Island a few days ago, although they encountered stubborn resistance from the Ming army and lost a lot of troops, the battle would have been won if the Ming army had not come to support them.
I didn't expect these people to be so arrogant and attack me secretly!
A mere dozen ships were really vulnerable to the powerful Ottoman navy, and they didn't even need to take action as their commander-in-chief.
Count Lyman received the order and immediately summoned his troops to board the ship.
He was a naval admiral of Bulgarian origin. He had been following King Muhad in his expeditions east and west for many years. He once defeated the Eastern Roman navy in the Mediterranean and made great military exploits.
This time the entire Ottoman navy was dispatched and was bound to capture the island of Ceylon. Lehmann was very excited because the opportunity for meritorious service had come again.
Amidst the commotion, a total of more than fifty warships of various sizes sailed out of the port.
"Lord Earl, traces of the enemy have been found!"
Earl Lyman suddenly became excited and ordered: "Raise the sail and catch up!"
The huge sail made a roaring noise and moved forward at full speed driven by the sea breeze.
On the sea, two fleets, one large and one small, were chasing each other on the sea. The dozen ships in front were the Ming army led by Zhang Jin, and behind them were the Ottoman navy led by Count Leman.
Zhang Jin knew that with his own strength, he could not confront the opponent head-on, so he immediately retreated after succeeding in the attack, but he still underestimated his opponent.
The ships of the Ottoman Navy are larger and more powerful. As the distance continues to approach, the opponent has begun to test-fire artillery.
Boom!
Wow!
The cannonball hit the sea water and caused a huge wave.
Zhang Jin frowned as he looked at the distance from the cannonball falling into the water, and then ordered: "Throw away all the heavy objects on the ship and move forward at full speed!"
The crewmen picked up various boxes on the ship and threw them into the sea, and finally threw away all the food and fresh water, but they still couldn't get rid of each other.
Zhang Jin gritted his teeth and stared straight ahead.
There is the island of Ceylon, his second home.
He is not afraid of death, but he does not want to die at sea and be buried in the belly of a fish.
Light began to appear in the east, the first ray of morning sun.
Perhaps thousands of miles away in the Ming Dynasty, the sky is already bright.
There is no way I can go back to my hometown. Even what it is like there has become very vague in my memory.
Boom!
Another cannonball roared in, hitting the ship less than ten feet away from the stern, causing the ship to shake continuously.
At this time, Zhang Jin thought silently in his heart that if his bones could be buried on Ceylon Island, he would have no regrets in this life...
"Sir, ship found, ship!"
Zhang Jin suddenly looked shocked and asked: "What kind of ship?"
"Ahead, due east, look!"
Zhang Jin raised his eyes and saw that facing the morning sun, black shadows seemed to appear on the sea.
The ships coming from this direction must be reinforcements from Ceylon Island, but when I set off, I had already taken away all the warships on Ceylon Island...
"Quick, telescope!"
An idea suddenly came to Zhang Jin's mind, so she picked up the telescope and tried to identify those outlines.
This position is backlit, making it difficult to see clearly, but this outline seems somewhat familiar...
"Ironclad ship, it's an ironclad ship!"
Zhang Jin suddenly became excited. He would never forget that giant sea beast!
The biggest difference between an ironclad ship and an ordinary ship is that it has no mast. Once you see it, it is very easy to identify.
"Our reinforcements are coming. Give me the order to turn right and make way for the ironclad!"
——
"My lord, the enemy ship is turning."
Count Lyman was standing on the deck, observing with a telescope.
He was a little surprised at first. If you turn the wheel now, wouldn't it be easier for me to catch up?
On second thought, maybe the other party is trying to make some changes because they can't get rid of it. However, this can't change anything at all, it can only make you die faster!
"Send the order, prepare to fire!"
All the cannons have their dark muzzles protruding, and their gunpowder shells have been loaded.
It was just a test launch just now, now it's time to get real.
"Listen to my orders..."
"My lord, there is a ship ahead!"
Lyman was about to give an order, but was interrupted and immediately became angry.
"Nonsense, we chased him all night..."
"It's not the ships we are chasing. Look ahead!"
Lyman took out his telescope again. As the ship in front turned its rudder, a bunch of black shadows suddenly appeared on the sea level.
What the hell?
He was a little surprised at first, and after carefully identifying it, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
This is a huge fleet, conservatively estimated to have hundreds of warships.
Moreover, I don’t know if there will be more later, or how many...
"Quick, turn, retreat!"
However, the black shadow in the field of vision becomes bigger and bigger...
Boom!
Suddenly, a huge roar came, like a bolt from the blue.
Count Lyman felt unsteady on his feet, took two steps back involuntarily, and sat down on the deck.
The size of the opponent's flagship has exceeded his knowledge. Through the telescope, he clearly saw the opponent's main gun firing at him.
Although the distance was already beyond the range of the artillery, the impact was so shocking!
Boom——Long——
Count Lyman turned his head in shock and saw sawdust flying on the frigate beside him, and billowing black shadows rising up.
Oh my God, it’s so far?
Moreover, this is a shell, and one shell almost destroyed a large battleship!
Boom!
Boom!
Before the Ottomans could react from the shock, countless cannon shots rang out from the ships opposite.
Lyman is going crazy, this is unscientific!
This distance is obviously not within range yet...
Boom!
This time, the explosion sounded in the ears, shaking people's eardrums to the point of pain.
Count Lyman stood up unsteadily and found that his ship had been shot in a side spin, and the ship was unstable and began to shake.
The soldiers who were near the side of the ship were immediately blown away with their flesh and blood flying everywhere, and the scene was simply too horrific to watch.
Immediately afterwards, another cannonball fell from the sky, this time hitting the main mast. The huge sail fell down and was instantly ignited.
Count Lyman's ship was already the largest Ottoman warship. After only two cannonballs, it was riddled with holes and was undergoing the baptism of water and fire.
The soldiers and crew members on the ship shouted loudly and tried to put out the fire, but to no avail.
They watched helplessly as the fire spread and gradually engulfed the entire ship, and they could only jump into the water helplessly.
Count Lyman was dumbfounded. He looked at everything in front of him in amazement. Then, the entire ship broke into two parts in the middle and slowly submerged into the endless sea water.
However, the destruction of the flagship was just the beginning, because they had no idea what they were facing.
Otherwise, they will definitely regret going to sea...
No, they will regret why they became Ming’s enemies!
Since the launch of the first ironclad Zheng He, the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding frenzy has not stopped. Today, there are as many as five ships.
These are only Zheng He-class battleships. There are also slightly inferior frigates and light frigates, as well as reconnaissance ships, landing ships, supply ships, transport ships, etc. of different sizes.
This time, there were hundreds of steam-powered and iron-clad ships going out to sea.
Including old-style treasure ships, sailing ships, and various types of ships, there are more than 500 ships in total.
The deafening sound of shelling was everywhere on the sea.
The Ottoman navy was in a terrible state. Some ships fired back hastily, and the fired shells were not very accurate.
Even if there is a hit, the outer layer of the armored ship will be nothing more than a crater.
Woo——
The Zheng He was like a ferocious beast, roaring towards the enemy ship with thick black smoke.
The Ottomans finally discovered that the behemoth in front of them was really... too big!
They had to look up and see that the huge ship was so close that it covered the sky and the sun.
"Turn the helm quickly!"
"It's out of control, it's too late!"
The tonnage of the ironclad ship was too large, and it was driven by a steam turbine, which formed a strong vortex at the bottom of the ship, causing all nearby ships to lose control, and some even rolled over, like a small boat in a storm, small and helpless.
, we can only leave it to fate.
Now, the armored ships are their king!
"Run!"
"Help..."
Seeing the huge ironclads crashing into them, the Ottoman navy no longer had the intention to resist and jumped ship to escape.
Boom!
Click...
The front end of the ironclad was like a sharp dagger, piercing the side of the sailboat and splitting it into two ends.
The whole process was clean and neat, without any sloppiness.
There were screams everywhere, and some people were unable to dive in time and died on the spot.
This was the most advanced Ottoman warship, and it just turned into a pile of sawdust and disappeared on the sea.
Several other ironclad ships followed the same example, rushing into the enemy's formation and charging rampant.
Half of the fifty ships were sunk by cannonballs, and the other half were torn apart by armored ships. It was a horrific sight.
There were broken pieces of ship planks floating everywhere on the sea, and a luxuriously equipped fleet just disappeared.
Not far away, Zhang Jin's hand holding the telescope was trembling.
He witnessed all this with his own eyes, and besides being shocked, he was also shocked.
In his view, although the Ming army had an advantage, the Ottoman navy should not be underestimated. The two sides competed at sea, and in the end the Ming army won, drove away the enemy ships, and successfully returned to the island of Ceylon. This was already a great victory.
Unexpectedly...
What tactics, what bravery, what experience...
In the face of absolute power, any so-called techniques and tactics are useless.
It's like a strong man facing a three-year-old child. This man still holds a knife in his hand. Does he need tactics?
There is no technique at all, just rush in and do it, and then it's over.
This is a one-sided massacre, a cruel killing!
Since he was stationed in Ceylon Island, Zhang Jin has also experienced some battles, especially naval battles. He thought he had accumulated some combat experience. However, he realized today that what he had experienced before was just a child's game.
That's all.
Wherever the ironclad ship passed, there was only destruction.
The Ottoman ships seemed to be made of tofu and would be broken upon collision.
The battle was over before they even had time to raise the white flag.
A landing ship quickly arrived, picked up Zhang Jin, and boarded the Zheng He.
Zhu Qizhen stood on the deck, with the sea breeze blowing on his face and feeling very comfortable.
It just smells like gunpowder smoke and a faint smell of blood...
"Your Majesty Zhang Jin, long live my emperor!"
Zhang Jin was so excited that she knelt down and started sobbing.
"Why are you still crying?"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "Get up and answer!"
"yes!"
Zhang Jin slowly stood up and described the current situation on Ceylon Island and his night attack on the Ottoman navy.
While Zhu Qizhen listened, he nodded slowly and said, "Very good, I saw you right. You will be credited with this battle!"
"I thank you for your holy grace!"
Zhang Jin cried with joy again. It was so difficult. If the emperor had been a step too late, he would have been buried under the sea.
"Tell me again, how many troops does the Ottoman navy have?"
"I didn't look carefully last night. There are roughly more than 300 ships and at least 20,000 troops."
"How many ships do they have in their homeland? Do you have this information?"
"Back to the Emperor, the Ottoman Navy has already deployed its full combat power."
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said: "That way, I'll save myself the trouble of making another trip."
"The emperor means..."
"The Ottomans are so ambitious that they not only detained our Ming fleet without any reason, but also tried to attack the island of Ceylon. That is the territory of our Ming Dynasty. There is nothing to say. Give me my order and move on!"
Zhang Jin said cautiously: "Your Majesty, we have just experienced a big battle, why not go back to Ceylon Island to rest for a while, and then..."
"No need!"
Zhu Qizhen raised his hand to interrupt him and said with a smile: "What kind of war is this? It's just a warm-up. Now I'm going to get serious!"
The corner of Zhang Jin's mouth couldn't help but twitch. He destroyed a fleet of fifty ships in one breath. Was this just a warm-up?
Suddenly, a terrible thought appeared in his mind.
Is the emperor leading the Ming Dynasty Navy out in full force just to protect Ceylon Island and deal with the Ottoman fleet?
I'm afraid it's more than that...
You know, the Ottoman Empire controls the Persian Gulf and has a superior geographical location. It is a great place!
Whether it's land or sea, it can be connected with the Ming Dynasty territory. It's perfect!
Zhu Qizhen saw his eyes rolling around and the corners of his mouth could not help but raise, so he asked: "What are you thinking about, so happy?"
Zhang Jin came to his senses and hurriedly said: "The emperor's civil and military skills are as far back as the Han and Tang Dynasties. He is truly the emperor of the ages!"
——
p: Thanks to the book friend "Mourning Wu Huaxia" for the reward. Since the book was published, Mourning Wu Huaxia has made many suggestions. Thank you again!
Thanks to the book friend "Sanshengyuan April" for the large reward!
Thank you to all the book friends for sending your tickets!!