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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.
If they did not defeat these two squadrons, once they were caught in the middle, they would be surrounded by the Qin army's subsequent huge fleet. At that time, one hundred Qin warships would besiege one of theirs, and the consequences would be disastrous.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The artillery fire from both sides roared even more fiercely, the sea was turbulent, the smoke was thick, the vision was blurred, and Hai Rufeng's 9th Battalion was subjected to the heaviest artillery fire;
The six Dutch ships fired at once, and hundreds of shells whistled in, hitting the surrounding sea surface like raindrops. One of the eagle ships was hit on the bow, and with a loud bang, the entire bow was shattered, and the hull turned sideways in the violent vibration, and the soldiers on the ship fell down.
Hai Rufeng clenched his fists, relying on the speed of the ship, and ordered to attack the enemy ships without hesitation. As the Dutch kept turning right, the warships of the 9th Battalion and the Dutch warships did not form a perfect "T" cross head, but almost formed an "eight" angle. The two sides got closer and closer, and the landing point of the shells became more and more accurate.
Bang! Another loud noise.
A projectile hit the front deck of Hai Rufeng's flagship, killing two sailors on the spot, with blood spilling all over the ground. A large hole was pierced through the front deck, with wooden planks flying everywhere. The scene was violent.
The bullet penetrated the watertight compartment violently and hit the ballast iron inside the compartment before it stopped.
And then, Sun Shisan returned the favor, the booming cannons were like an angry fire dragon;
The hopeful hand on the mast saw two consecutive impeachment shells penetrate the starboard side of the enemy's flagship, causing the huge enemy ship to plunge downward suddenly.
"Hit! Two hits!" The lookout waved the flag and shouted desperately.
"Come again, hurry up! Aim at the enemy's flagship and sink it!" Sun Shisan shouted until his neck turned red. The gunners cheered and quickly replaced their sub-guns.
In just a dozen seconds, the ten thousand-jin falconets roared again. The shells chased the enemy's first ship and bombarded it continuously;
This was Hai Rufeng's order, because the Dutchman's first ship was not only the closest, but also the enemy's flagship;
Once it is successfully disabled, the five enemy warships behind it will be blocked from moving forward.
Austin's flagship had just been hit by two shells on the starboard side, causing heavy casualties to the starboard gunners. One of the shells hit one foot above the waterline, and when the waves were high, the shells would flow into the cabin through the shell hole.
The bomb-hit cabin was a mess of blood and flesh, and the knocked-down Dutch soldiers were screaming;
Before they could get up, they heard another loud "bang!" as the third projectile hit the command cabin accurately. The entire command room was cut in half by the fierce bombardment.
Six of the staff officers and messengers inside were killed or wounded on the spot. Some were dying and let out shrill howls that made one's scalp tingle.
Austin was lucky, and was only hit on the cheek by a piece of broken wood, which made his face burn. Soon it became red and swollen, "How is this possible? How can the enemy's shells be so accurate..."
"General, are you okay? Are you okay?" the sailors ran over and shouted.
"Keep turning right, fight back!" Austin stood up, drew his sword, and shouted.
If you look down from the sky at this time, you can see that the 9th Battalion and the Dutch fleet formed an "eight" angle, getting closer and closer, and the naval guns of both sides were roaring fiercely. The flying projectiles streaked across the sky like a meteor shower;
Columns of water stirred up by the bullets rose up one after another on the sea surface, and the thick smoke almost covered the sky.
After all, Hai Rufeng only had two gunboats, and the number of artillery was less than that of the enemy. Rushing forward like this was simply a desperate way of fighting, and it was thrilling to watch.
Three or four miles away, the South China Sea Fleet led by Zheng Sihai was rushing desperately to the battlefield. Due to the headwind, they had to keep moving in a zigzag shape. Seeing the fighting style of Hai Rufeng's Ninth Battalion, the main forces behind were all anxious and wished they could grow wings and rush to the battlefield.
Zhang Jie's eagle ship, which was in the front, dodged the Dutch's solid bullets time and time again, but its black sails had been riddled with grains of saltpeter.
Fortunately, they used hard sails, if it was the soft sails of Western warships, the canvas would have been torn long ago;
The soldiers on board also suffered heavy casualties, and the ship was covered in blood;
But he was still sailing towards the enemy ship desperately. Columns of water stirred up by the shells rose up beside his warship. The situation was dangerous and the whole warship seemed to be dancing with death.
This courage alone frightened the Dutch on the other side;
They had fought against the Ming army and Zheng Zhilong's armed merchant ships before. At that time, the Ming army usually relied on their large numbers and rushed forward in small boats. With such a huge disparity in strength, the Ming army did not dare to approach at all.
Bang! There was another loud noise, and the mast of a ship behind Zhang Jie was hit;
The mast broke instantly, and the huge sail fell down, covering the entire ship. It was impossible to see whether there were any casualties on the ship, but with the loss of speed, it would undoubtedly become a target for the enemy.
Zhang Jie personally rushed to hold the rudder, risking the destruction of the ship and the loss of lives to approach the enemy ship... Four hundred steps, three hundred steps, two hundred steps... In the vast sea, in the whistling rain of bullets, to get two hundred steps closer, the price paid is blood, "Boss! Two hundred steps! It should be close to two hundred steps!"
"Okay, let's try to blast him first, quick!"
Zhang Jie returned the boat to the helmsman and rushed back to the deck. The enemy's artillery shells, including solid bullets and shotgun shells, whizzed in. Batches of marbles hit the deck, and soldiers were constantly hit and died heroically.
"Let me do it!" Zhang Jie grabbed the rocket and leaned over the side. The hull was heaving, and it was not easy to aim at the enemy ship two hundred steps away through the dense smoke.
What's more, today's rockets are not fired by percussion, but by point-to-point fuse shooting, which makes aiming more difficult. You can't control the timing of the launch accurately and can only stay aiming at all times.
Chirp! A tail flame spurted out, and the rocket shot towards the enemy's lead ship like a comet hitting the moon. At this moment, everyone on the Eagle Ship held their breath, waiting for the ball of fire to rise.
"well!"
"Damn it!"
Seeing that the rocket was just a little bit away from passing over the enemy's flagship and crashing into the sea without even exploding, the Eagle sighed.
Zhang Jie couldn't help but punch the side of the boat: "Come closer, get closer!"
After Zhang Jie finished yelling, the soldiers on the ship had bloodshot eyes and followed his orders, ready to die and continue approaching the enemy ship.
The enemy's bullets rained down, splashing water and making marbles bounce around.
With a "Puff!" sound, Wang Er, who was controlling the sail, was hit in the chest by a shotgun pellet. At a distance of more than a hundred steps, the shotgun pellet was so powerful that Wang Er's chest was completely pierced, forming a huge bullet hole.
The marbles even penetrated his body and flew out from behind. For a moment, blood rained everywhere. The tragic scene was thrilling to watch.
"Captain, the enemy's firepower is too strong, too strong, let's get closer..."
"Wu Feiyan, do you want to be a deserter?" Zhang Jie shouted, "We have lost so many brothers, and it has come to this. Do you still want to retreat? What are you afraid of? At most, we will die. If you all die, I will accompany you and will never live alone... Is this okay? Charge!"
"That's right, the captain is right. We are finished. As long as we can exchange one of the enemy's ships, it will be a huge profit. Charge!"
Li Dashi roared and rushed over first, replacing the sacrificed Wang Er, trying to control the sail;
The entire ship was sailing at the fastest speed due to the crosswind, and the hull was tilted at almost thirty degrees.
Zhang Jie reloaded the rocket and began to try to aim at the enemy ship again. At this moment, he suddenly heard a loud "bang" from behind.
He quickly looked back, but saw that the command building of the Ninth Battalion's flagship had been completely destroyed in the smoke. "General!" Zhang Jie cried out in grief, his eyes bloodshot. "General, avenge me!"
On the flagship of the 9th Battalion, there was even more chaos. Soldiers roared and rushed to the collapsed command cabin, using their hands to pry open the cabin board.
Sun Shisan's hands were cut by the broken wooden boards and were bleeding, but he seemed not to feel it and continued to desperately cling to the collapsed command room.
He first pulled off a black eye patch and couldn't help but cry out: "General! You can't die! General..."
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ps: I'm begging for monthly tickets again, brothers. Our strength and fire are still not enough, and our ranking is declining. We are surrounded by danger. I'm begging brothers to give us some votes. We urgently need firepower support and monthly tickets!
.(To be continued..)
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