Navigation on a hurricane night is extremely dangerous. As the storm intensifies, the waves become more fierce. It is not an exaggeration to say that the sea is rough.
The waves were as high as mountains, sometimes even higher than the hull of the armored ship. The huge waves crashed on the deck like landslides, splashing water all over the sky, and lashing out at everyone on the deck like whips.
Fortunately, the station on the deck of the armored warship is equipped with safety pull rings for fixing ropes. When the weather is calm, these stainless steel pull rings fixed on the deck are hidden in the grooves. But now, they are definitely useful.
.Made from thick cowhide rope
The safety belts are buckled on the pull rings and tied to the leather buckles on the waists of the soldiers, which can effectively ensure the safety of the soldiers. Without these safety measures, if a big wave comes, the soldiers on the deck will be swept to the sea.
, let alone operating a ship.
But even so, dangers are still everywhere and dangers occur frequently.
The armored warships also underwent a great test. The mizzen masts of two warships were broken in the stormy waves. Half of the Ningxia's ship building was shattered by the huge waves, and the cabin was flooded. The water dragon team quickly pumped out the water and emptied it to avoid the accident.
Danger of losing balance of vessel due to water ingress.
Except for the fixed main guns and oars, almost everything on the decks of all the armored warships was swept away. A large number of facilities were destroyed, and a large number of materials that were not carried back to the cabin in time were swept into the sea with thick rope nets.
.
Even so, under the leadership of the Star, the ten large ships still crossed the rough waves like mountains and ridges, advancing tenaciously with the help of wind and waves.
In the second half of the night, the wind became weaker and the waves became smaller. Although it still rained heavily, it was no longer the same as the previous situation.
Everyone understands that the most dangerous time has passed. The fleet has left the most dangerous position in the center of the hurricane and has reached the area outside the center. It is already out of the danger that may be complicated at any time and has entered a relatively easier to control area.
The area of the ship.
Zhang Yanling stood in the ship hall, looking back in the direction he came from. There was still lightning and thunder, and it was pitch black, like hell. It was hard to imagine that the Armada rushed out from there. His decision was indeed risky, but he believed in it.
The ability of the armored warship to withstand waves. Facts have proved that the armored warship did survive.
"What time is it now?" Zhang Yanling asked in a deep voice.
"Reporting to the Duke of the State, it is a moment of ugliness." Chen Shiyi responded in a deep voice from the side.
"Choushi... that is to say, we have been sailing southeast for about four hours. Our departure location is more than a hundred miles southeast of Colombo Port. At our current speed, we will arrive at Colombo Port in an hour.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice.
"That's right." Chen Shi said.
Zhang Yanling turned to a guard holding a compass and asked: "Is our voyage confirmed?"
The guard loudly said: "Report to the Lord, sail 60 degrees northwest. Directly opposite the entrance of Colombo Harbor."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Okay, Chen Shiyi, order all ships to maintain their course. Half an hour later, all lights were turned off, and they approached Colombo Port at full speed. Four ships, Xingchen, Liaoyuan, Datong, and Yansui, broke into the attack from the front. Ningxia,
Jiang Zhe blocked the west side of the port
, bombarded the shore forts, the Xuanfu blocked the eastern port and eliminated the firepower point of the shore forts. After arriving, three fireworks bombs were the signal for attack, and we attacked with all our strength without leaving any fallback. Before dawn, I want to see the Colombo port.
, not a single enemy ship.”
The iron-clad warship raised another jib, and the ship sailed faster. Half an hour later, the soldiers of the iron-clad warship could already see the outline of the undulating land on the north side on the deck, and they could already see the Colombo harbor.
The dim light of the land has dimmed.
The lights in the cabin and hall of the Star were extinguished. Then the lights on all the armored warships were all extinguished. All the warships were hidden in the darkness, and against the dim skylight, you could see them like the legendary ships on the sea.
Like a ghost ship, it silently rushed towards Colombo Port in the violent storm.
In the cabin, all the artillery had been loaded, and the gunners held onto the chains above their heads to steady themselves, waiting for orders.
It was windy and rainy outside, the rain was freezing, and the temperature was even a little cold. But it was extremely hot inside the cabin. All the gunners' foreheads and bodies were covered in sweat. The sweat crawled along their bodies like worms, making them itchy and sticky.
It was extremely uncomfortable. But no one wiped away their sweat. They were all waiting for orders attentively.
A quarter of an hour later, seven armored warships sailed into the horseshoe-shaped entrance of Colombo Port. As Zhang Yin said before, on such a stormy night, thirteen warships from the Flangji Kingdom and eight from the Ceylon Navy
The warships were originally in formation more than 20 miles outside the port, waiting for the arrival of the Ming fleet. But when the hurricane hit, they all returned to the port dock to take shelter from the wind. Most of the crew went ashore and hid in the military camp.
.
There were several lighthouses and a large number of forts guarding the shores on the east and west sides of the port. But on such a night, they were not alert or aware of the arrival of enemy ships at all. Seven armored warships slid into the horseshoe-shaped port like ghosts.
, and quickly set up a formation.
The seven warships gathered together in the port. The wind and waves in the port were already very small. The warships were stable, like a weather-beaten giant returning from the baptism of wind and rain. They shook off the wind and frost on their bodies with a calm expression and raised the huge giant in their hands.
weapons.
The cannon holes on the sides of all the cabins opened silently, like dark holes opening to release ferocious beasts.
The gunner pushed the cannon, and the cannon slid on the rails, making a dull and harsh sound. The huge cannon barrels poked their heads out, like emotionless black eyes, staring directly into the darkness outside.
Click, click, click! The sound of the gun mount being stuck on the rails by the fixing device came one after another.
"Target...one thousand eight hundred steps directly ahead...the angle is due north...the elevation angle is forty."
The commander gave the order loudly, and the gunners of each gun repeated it loudly one after another.
"...1,800 steps directly ahead...the angle is due north...the elevation angle is forty. One explosive bomb..."
The muzzle of the gun was adjusted quickly, and everything stabilized soon. All sounds stopped, and the surroundings suddenly fell into silence. Only the sound of wind, rain and waves on the sea surface and the breathing of the soldiers could be clearly heard.
Whoosh, whoosh, three red fireworks bombs soared into the sky. The red light illuminated the dark rainy night before dawn. Reflected by the waves on the sea, it reflected a strange red color. It was as if the sea water had also turned red. Like
Bloody red.
The next moment, as if the earth was shattering, seven warships and nearly 150 naval guns roared at the same time. The thin flames formed a wall of flames on the sea. The flames illuminated the rain curtain and also illuminated the sea outside the port.
The light was so bright that it reflected the silhouette of a huge, monster-like armored warship.
A mile and a half ahead, a group of dark enemy warships gathered at the port dock and docked were also illuminated by the fire of the shells a moment later. The fire of the exploding shells was extremely exaggerated, like a big fireball falling on the enemy.
The ship exploded. On the other hand, the solid bullets were low-key, penetrating the wooden hull with a low roar, shattering the thin ship planks, and in the firelight of the solid bullets, splinters and splinters filled the sky.
"Boom, boom, boom!" The roar of cannons is endless. The gunners in the cabin mechanically load the sub-cannons one after another, and then blast them out. There is no need to consider consumption or anything else.
The turbulence and fear experienced throughout the night, and all the terrifying emotions brought about by the hurricane and sea waves, were all vented at this moment with the shells.
The sound of so many artillery salvos was louder than the thunder in the sky. It covered all the sounds in the sky and earth, awakening the dreams of the Colombo port and the people sleeping soundly in the whole city on the night of the hurricane.
The Port of Colombo was reduced to a sea of flames in a very short period of time.