Chapter 1104: The Sound of Cannons on the Indian Ocean
Maritime battles in the Age of Discovery were a combination of two extremes: magnificent and boring.
When the fleets of both sides engage in gunfire at close range, the scene is enough to shock anyone who is watching the battle, and it will also frighten any soldier who is involved in the battle.
Because when the warships of both sides engage in battle, the distance is often very close. Large-scale bombardments exceeding three hundred meters are very rare. Most of them are within three hundred meters or even more than one hundred meters.
At close range, the hit rate of naval guns will become quite high at this distance.
What's more important is that the strength of warships these days is directly measured by the number of cannons. There are dozens of cannons, and even small and medium-sized warships of two to three hundred tons can
It has about twenty naval guns.
A battleship has dozens of artillery pieces, and an entire fleet often has hundreds of artillery pieces. When so many artillery pieces are fired, almost the entire sea surface will be filled with smoke, and the sound of huge cannons will continue to be returned.
Roar.
However, naval battles in this era are also extremely boring!
Because the speed is too slow, it is difficult to reach a high speed even when the wind and water are smooth. In most cases, the speed is only about five or six knots, and the speed is not enough. Moreover, it is also subject to extreme changes in wind direction and ocean currents.
The huge impact caused the battleship to turn around even if it didn't want to.
This means that it actually takes at least a few hours for the fleets of both sides to discover each other, close the distance and engage in battle. If it is a pursuit battle, then sorry, it will only take a few days.
Relaxed.
If the pursuer is in hot pursuit and can keep up, this chase can even last for more than half a month, from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
Now, Tong Shangchao and the others are with the unknown but obviously malicious small fleet in front of them. Even though it seems that the battle is about to break out, in fact, it will be several hours at least before the real battle breaks out.
Therefore, although Tong Shangchao and the others were already preparing for war, no one in the fleet said that the atmosphere was too tense.
After Tong Shangchao and the others had finished their meal, they boarded the bridge again. They saw that the warship, which was originally just three blurry black figures on the right front, had become a little closer, but now the wind direction was more favorable to Tong Shangchao and the others.
Therefore, Tong [31] Shang Chao and the others can continue to maintain high speed without turning, but the opponent will definitely need to change direction. In this way, it will be more difficult for the opponent to catch up.
However, Tong Shangchao knew that even if the time was extended, the opponent would definitely be able to catch up, because the opponent's three ships were all triangular schooners.
They are not big, with a displacement of more than a hundred tons at most, and definitely not more than two hundred tons. However, they use a single-mast schooner and a slender hull. Usually, these ships are very fast and maneuverable.
Although Tong Shangchao's fleet is a new type of ship and is faster than ordinary merchant ships, it is still inferior to such fast ships. Even his frigates cannot compete with such fast ships in terms of speed and maneuverability.
sex.
Among the various current sails, the only one that can travel faster than the spinnaker is the Datang Royal Institute of Technology, which was specially established this year by combining the advantages of China and the West.
It's just that the new type of Datang schooner is limited by technology, and it is difficult to make it taller and bigger. It can only win by quantity. So you will see that the ships using Datang schooner are only about tens of tons or hundreds of tons, but they are generally
Use three or even four masts.
What's more important is that this kind of sailing rig was designed not long ago and has not yet been applied on a large scale.
Most of the warships of the Tang Navy and private merchant ships still use traditional sails. If we only look at the sails, there is almost no difference between the warships of the Tang Navy and the sails of the Spanish Galen ships.
What's more, his fleet is essentially transporting merchant ships, including the frigates, which are full of cargo, and the speed is much slower than when the ships are empty.
Therefore, it is almost certain that you will be caught up in the end. Even if the opponent cannot intercept you, you will be able to slowly catch up from behind.
But Tong Shangchao is not without confidence. His confidence is the powerful firepower of his own fleet, especially the 350-ton displacement frigate under his command. It is a naval battleship with powerful firepower. It is not like those hundreds of tons.
The boats are comparable.
Even the other three merchant ships are armed merchant ships and their firepower is not weak.
Even if the three fast ships on the opposite side catch up, Tong Shangchao still has great confidence in repelling them.
But how to use our own powerful firepower requires Tong Shangchao's command!
If you just foolishly flee westward and are caught up from behind slowly, your side will not be able to use its most powerful side firepower.
So half an hour later, Tong Shangchao ordered a change of formation. From the previous frigate leading a single column, the frigate deviated from the route. The three armed merchant ships were still in a separate group, forming a parallel formation of the frigate and three merchant ships.
Then gradually fell behind, and finally, the frigate fell at the end of the fleet, with the merchant ship taking the lead!
An hour later, Tong Shangchao once again ordered to change the course to the northwest. At this time, the enemy's three pirate ships also came from the northwest, which caused the two sides to go directly opposite each other.
Tong Shangchao's idea is very obvious, that is, to pass by these pirates, and use his most powerful side firepower when passing by!
But the pirates on the opposite side were obviously not stupid. They also changed their course in an attempt to change the situation. Faced with this situation, Tong Shangchao changed his course again.
The two sides adjusted their course time and time again, and time passed slowly.
And when adjusting the course, the wind direction also changed again. Seeing that the east wind was blowing, Tong Shangchao was too lazy to bother with them, and directly ordered to readjust the navigation and continue westward.
It was not long before night. If the other party did not want to lose him after nightfall, they would have to catch up, entangle him or even fight him. Otherwise, one night would be enough for Tong Shangchao to change his voyage several times and get rid of them.
Obviously, the pirates on the opposite side also knew that time was not in their favor, so naturally they would not let Tong Shangchao and the others leave. As soon as the sailing was adjusted, they immediately caught up with them, and their speed was getting faster and faster.
At this time, the pirates took full advantage of the dhow and quickly circled up. They also wanted to bypass the escorting frigates, insert themselves into the merchant fleet, and disrupt Tong Shangchao's ship.
Team formation.
Now the distance between the two sides is only about three to four hundred meters, and they are about to enter the final stage of close combat!
At this time, Tong Shangchao showed a hint of ridicule and muttered: These fools!
Then he ordered: "Keep the formation and collectively turn 40 degrees to the right!"
With this turn, his fleet almost moved sideways, and then aimed all its broadside artillery at the three enemy ships rushing up from behind!
When the enemy ships realized something was wrong, they turned around and tried to escape. They had already rushed into the range of firepower of Dong Shangchao's fleet's broadside naval guns.
"fire!"
Following Tong Shangchao's order, his ship was the first to roar!
The rumble of cannons continues in the Indian Ocean!