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The East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet were commanded by Gu Rong and Zheng Sihai respectively. Various flag signals and drum sounds quickly conveyed combat orders to the subordinate warships.
For a moment, the two fleets were like angry lions, roaring and pouncing on the enemy.
Among the current Western countries in Southeast Asia, the Dutch are definitely the most powerful.
The once mighty Spanish colonial empire had already begun to decline, Portugal was a small country and busy fighting a civil war with Spain, and even the port at the Cape of Good Hope in Africa had been seized by the Dutch. The British had just reached out and had not had time to gain a firm foothold.
The Netherlands, the maritime coachman, was at its peak, and the East India Company could be called the largest company in the world.
Therefore, they have always been unwilling to lose Taiwan. The last time they lost Taiwan was entirely due to a surprise attack. If they had been prepared, Zheng Zhilong would never have been able to succeed so easily.
They have already sent people to find out. Although Zhiwan is now in the hands of Qin, there are not many defenders. This time the six warships are heading north to retake Taiwan.
However, they did not expect to encounter the Qin Royal Navy in Luzon. These powers have never been easy to deal with. When they saw the outer squadron, they thought they could win the battle and immediately opened fire.
Anyway, the purpose of going to Taiwan this time is to seize Taiwan from the Qin State, and there will be a war sooner or later.
But they never expected that the sound of the cannon would stir up a hornet's nest.
When Zheng Sihai and Gu Rong led the main forces of the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet to attack, the Dutch were dumbfounded by the huge fleet that emerged from the sea level like a dark cloud in a storm, the mighty momentum, and the dark shadows of the sails!
The Dutch commander, General Austin, almost dropped the telescope in his hand. He even rubbed his eyes in disbelief to make sure he didn't mistake the dark clouds for sails.
"Right! Right!"
Austin's shrill scream made people suspect that he was stabbed in the ass, and his facial expression was distorted. This image is even more classic.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
As the Dutch warship was turning, the starboard guns kept roaring. From afar, tongues of fire burst out from the starboard side, the air was filled with smoke, and bullets cut through the sky and slammed heavily into the sea. The sea surface was like a boiling pot, with columns of water rising in series.
One of the bullets hit the corner of the cabin where Wang Guichen was sitting. With a bang, the corner of the cabin was completely smashed away, and broken wooden boards flew everywhere, injuring two sailors. The bullet then passed over the deck and hit the sea surface on the port side, stirring up a splash of water that was a foot high.
"Damn it!" Wang Guichen was furious, veins popping out on his thin face, pointing at the enemy ship in the distance and yelling, "Fight back, fight back!"
Although his warship was only damaged in a corner, which had no effect on its speed and combat effectiveness, it was the first to be damaged by the enemy. This made him very angry, and he ordered the 10th Battalion to rush forward regardless of everything, vowing to fight back at all costs, and at the same time entangle the enemy so that the follow-up main force could surround it.
The 10th Battalion attacked fiercely. Every time the ship turned sideways, the ship's guns would roar fiercely. Shells flew into the sky like meteorites with blazing anger, whistling towards the enemy ships.
Those small and medium-sized eagle ships and bluff ships spread out in the plum blossom formation, cutting through the waves and rushing towards the enemy.
These small and medium-sized warships must never be underestimated. Although they are not equipped with naval guns, if they are allowed to get close, they will definitely become the enemy's nightmare.
The smoke on the sea became thicker and thicker due to the continuous bombardment from both sides, making these small and medium-sized warships appear looming and leaping lightly above the waves.
Seeing the desperate efforts of the Tenth Battalion, Hai Rufeng of the Ninth Battalion also gave it his all. At this time, the Dutch turned right, apparently intending to escape westward, but this also made them sail against the wind;
This was a great opportunity. Hai Rufeng's 9th Battalion was located northwest of the Dutch. As long as it turned 45 degrees to the west and quickly moved forward with the wind, it would be possible to seize the "T" crosshead.
Although he only had two gunboats, if he could seize the "T"-shaped crosshead, combined with the cooperation of eight eagle ships and bluff ships, he could still inflict a heavy blow to the enemy.
The sea breeze was howling, the black sails were filled with wind, the rigging was snapping, the soldiers on the ship were doing their duties, busy and intense, the waves split by the bow, splashing layers of white caps.
Sun Shisan and others couldn't wait for the warship to complete the turn, because the angle was not right and they couldn't fire. Gunner Wu Sanpei and others had their eyes wide open, as if they wanted to spray their eyeballs at the enemy ship as cannonballs.
As the ship turned, it was tilted a little bit by the sails, and white waves on the left side of the bow splashed up, like white wings growing on the warship.
Finally... it's turned around!
"Fire!" Sun Shisan jumped up almost instantly, and with a command flag, the ten thousand-jin falconets on the port side fired one after another;
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Amid a deafening roar, the shells whizzed out, and the gun barrel was pushed back by the powerful recoil. The cabin was filled with smoke, making people's throats itchy.
The gunners didn't bother to see the effect of the shells. As soon as the gun was pushed back, they rushed forward, quickly replaced the sub-guns, and then pushed the gun back to the porthole... .
Around the Dutch warships, bullets fell like rain and water rushed. Everyone's heart was in their throat. With such a dense stream of shells, no one knew when the warship would be hit.
"Quick, change to shotgun shells!" Oscar saw that the Qin army's eagle ships and bluff ships were approaching at a very fast speed, risking their lives, and hurriedly gave orders.
Boom! Boom boom boom... .
The Dutch warships once again spewed out tongues of fire, and countless marbles sprayed out like raindrops, forming a terrifying barrage that shot towards the Qin army's approaching small and medium-sized warships.
Amid the crackling sound, the eight small and medium-sized warships of the 9th Battalion were bombarded by shotgun shells. The bullets hit the hulls densely. The black sails of two eagle ships were almost beaten into sieves with holes everywhere.
The violent bullets hit the hull, and wood chips flew everywhere.
The sailors who were hit fell down screaming, and some were even knocked into the sea. The battle instantly became fierce, and the intersection of blood and fire made everyone's eyes red.
"Get ready, rocket! Damn it!" yelled Zhang Jie, the captain of the eagle ship who was in the front.
Ma Daguan, one of his men, had just dragged a wounded comrade back into the cabin and replied, "Captain, we are not yet in the rocket's range. We can't hit it from such a long distance..."
"Then hurry up and rush forward, quickly!"
Amid Zhang Jie's fierce roar, the soldiers rushed onto the deck again, manipulating the sails and controlling the ropes. Although the Qin army's rockets were powerful, their range was not as good as artillery, and their accuracy was also limited. They had to get close to a hundred steps, or even closer, to ensure a high hit rate.
So the soldiers on the eagle ship could only sail and steer the ship, braving the enemy's hail of bullets and desperately getting closer.
The enemy's shotgun was very terrifying. With a roar, the bullets came like rain, causing heavy casualties to the Qin army. There was almost no room left on the deck.
But in order to control the warship, he had to risk his life and rush to the deck again and again.
Seeing the heavy casualties of the eagle ship and the bluff ship in front, Hai Rufeng's single eye that was exposed turned blood red. The helmsman kept turning the rudder according to his orders, and it seemed that he was about to seize the "T" crosshead;
Although it was still very dangerous to use two warships to grab the "T"-shaped cross section of the enemy's six giant ships, Hai Rufeng, who was blinded by killing, had already given it a try. Even if the ten warships of the 9th Battalion were destroyed, as long as the six giant enemy ships could be retained, it would be a victory.
The port side of the two gunboats roared constantly, and after five salvos, a projectile finally hit the starboard side of the first Dutch ship hard;
After the huge projectile broke through the starboard side of the enemy ship, it penetrated violently into the lower deck, smashing several enemy soldiers below into pieces. Unfortunately, it failed to penetrate the enemy's bottom cabin, but this was enough to terrify the Dutch.
Seeing that the head of the "T" was about to be taken away by the two Qin gunboats, Austin immediately ordered his men to continue to turn right in an attempt to form a parallel state with Hai Rurufeng. However, their warships were large and numerous, and they could not turn as fast as Hai Rufeng and his men.
On the other hand, Wang Guichen's Tenth Battalion was attacking from the left rear. Once it continued to turn right, it would inevitably be caught in the pincer attack of Wang Guichen and Hai Rufeng.
Although he could fire from both sides at the same time, once trapped, his huge ship would not be as fast as the Qin army's and would most likely be trapped and unable to turn. When the Qin army's follow-up main force came over, they would be trapped in layers of siege.
Austin looked solemn. He was frightened by the fighting spirit of the Qin army. Now the only way out was to defeat Hai Rufeng or Wang Guichen to survive.
Boom! Boom boom boom! The artillery fire from both sides roared even more fiercely, the sea was surging, and the air was filled with gunpowder smoke...
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ps: No. 2, are there any brothers who haven't voted for the guaranteed monthly tickets? The navy soldiers are fighting a bloody battle and need your firepower support. Brothers, I sincerely ask for monthly tickets! Please vote for me!
.(To be continued..)
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