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The Dutch Governor-General Kruzenard stood on the fort of Gaolangbu Port with a telescope, looking out of the bay and saw the dark fleet of the Qin army approaching, like a dark cloud covering a city. Especially the huge hull of the treasure ship, like a moving island, made people exclaim in amazement and worried.
The wind blowing from the vast Indian Ocean was a little hot. Kruznar was not paying attention and the top hat on his head fell off, revealing a head of golden curly hair.
He had 400 soldiers under his command, 200 of whom were defending the fort in the port. His army captain, Passat, helped him pick up his hat and said, "Don't worry, Governor. God is with us. You see, the wind is getting stronger and stronger, but there is a sense of stuffiness. If I am right, a storm is coming."
"I hope, Almighty God, please let the storm come soon." Kruznar prayed sincerely.
Indeed, the wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the air was becoming more and more stuffy. This was the prelude to the coming storm. Ke Chenshu on the warship also felt the change in the weather.
However, due to the strong wind, it is difficult for the hang glider to take off. Even if it takes off forcibly, it is easy to lose control in the sky.
Ke Chenshu stood in front of the huge command cabin, looked at the sun gradually setting in the west, and then gave an order: "Send a message, have Liu Hucheng take 200 people and find a place nearby to land on the beach. The artillery position must be captured before the second watch tonight."
“Yes!”
The messenger immediately sent out a flag signal, and after receiving the order, the two clippers immediately sailed along the coastline, looking for a suitable landing point.
However, fearing that the storm may arrive at any time, Ke Chenshu could not wait any longer and had to capture Gaolangbu Port as soon as possible so that he could go in and avoid the storm.
However, considering the huge size of the treasure ship, the obvious target, and the relatively clumsy turning, it was not suitable to attack the artillery position. So he ordered 20 clipper warships to attack.
The entrance channel of Gaolangbu Port is about three miles wide, with dark green mountains towering on both sides of the entrance. The Dutch built four artillery batteries on each side, overlooking the entire entrance.
On the south artillery platform, Governor Kruznar personally used the Eternal Mirror to observe the enemy situation. He paid special attention to the sky. When he saw that no Qin army gliders took off, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Prepare the artillery. Get it ready quickly." Army Captain Passat, who is experienced in combat, is not so optimistic.
The twenty slender clipper ships of the Qin army were already lined up in battle formation, and all the guns were pushed out of the portholes. It was clearly visible that these slender warships had 22 guns on each side.
Twenty warships combined have 440 guns on each side, while their artillery batteries only have four guns on each of the north and south sides. This gap is not a small one.
"Concentrate all the artillery and aim at the Qin army's lead ship. Don't panic. Aim and shoot!" Passat kept giving orders.
On the Qin army's warships, all the guns were loaded with ammunition, and the gunners were patiently adjusting the firing angle according to the rotation of the warships. There was a gunner and a deputy gunner on each side, responsible for coordinating the firing of the gunners.
The clipper was sailing downwind, reaching a maximum speed of 14 knots, skimming across the sea like a flying bird, but the bow was like a slanted sharp blade, easily cutting through the waves, and at high speed, two white waves could be seen plowing on both sides of the bow, like two wings growing out of the bow.
Such speed was simply a miracle in that era. The Dutch on the artillery position could hardly believe their eyes. It was too fast, so fast that they had almost no time to adjust the shooting angle and were in a panic.
As the warships got closer and closer to the fort, the clouds of war grew heavier.
"Range-finding gun, fire!"
Following an order from Sun Da, the gunner on the port side of the foreship, a cannon roared with a loud "boom!" and the shell whizzed away. Affected by the strong wind, the shell landed as much as twenty feet away from the Dutch artillery position.
Before concentrated firing, the Daqin Navy would first use one or two shells to measure the distance. The gunners would observe the landing point of the shells through telescopes, and then quickly report a series of data such as the shooting angle and wind speed influence. Then all gunners would further adjust the shooting angle based on these data.
"Fire!" In the end, it was Passat at the southern artillery position who gave the first order.
Boom... Boom boom boom!
The four guns of the southern turret roared almost at the same time. The shells streaked across the sky and flew towards the Qin army's lead ship, stirring up columns of water near the lead ship.
Generally speaking, artillery batteries have a great advantage. First of all, artillery batteries can only be destroyed if the shells hit their artillery directly. Warships are huge, and the shells fired by the artillery batteries can cause damage to the warships as long as they hit the hull.
Furthermore, warships are affected by the waves and rise and fall unsteadily, making it more difficult for gunners to aim and shoot, while the gun platforms are fixed, so the hit rate is often much higher.
In short, although Passat only has four guns on one side, the number gap is huge, but it is not necessarily at a disadvantage.
Boom... Boom boom boom!
Four more shells burst out and hit the Qin army's first ship hard. One of the shells landed less than three feet away from the hull, posing a great threat to the Qin army's warship.
However, the Qin army's warships did not immediately fight back until the Dutch fired the third round of shells, when the cannons on the Qin army's warships suddenly roared.
Looking down from the high artillery position, one could see tongues of fire densely emerging from the Qin army's warships, bringing up clouds of smoke, and bullets streaking across the sky like meteors.
Hundreds of shells flew incessantly, and the scene was so spectacular that it made people shudder. Although the accuracy of the shells fired from the artillery was limited, the large number of them could not stop them. The sky was full of shells flying, and the sound was so tremendous that it was breathtaking. The shells hit the mountain one by one, making the whole mountain tremble.
Moreover, several of them always landed near the fort, causing gravel to fly. One of the two Dutch soldiers was scratched on the neck by gravel, and blood gushed out instantly. He fell to the ground, holding his neck and twitching violently. The other was hit directly in the face, and his facial features were immediately bloody and he screamed in agony.
"Shoot, quickly, don't stop..." Passat yelled, holding the command knife.
As the Qin army's warships got closer and closer, more and more warships opened fire. Before one ship finished firing, another ship fired shells. Countless tongues of fire flickered and thick smoke covered the sea surface. Fortunately, the wind was strong and the smoke was quickly blown away.
In the sky, shells were flying continuously, bombarding the Dutch artillery as densely as hail. The terrifying sound alone was enough to make a timid person wet his pants.
"Bang!" A shell fired from the artillery slammed into the front deck of the Qin army's first ship, causing wooden boards to fly and a Qin soldier to be blown away. "Great! God bless..." Passat shouted excitedly, because he clearly saw that the warship, which was sailing at high speed, suffered a heavy setback, which was very exciting. "Come again, come again, reload quickly..."
The shells were pounding down like hail all around, and Passat could hardly hear the sound of the shells. At this moment, a bullet hit him less than three feet away. "Bang!" Passat was knocked to the ground.
The bullet bounced back after hitting the ground, smashing the two soldiers next to him into a bloody mess. One of them had his entire head exploded, and his brains splattered all over Passat's face.
Passat wiped his face hastily, quickly got up, and yelled hysterically: "Hurry... hurry up and fight back!" He rushed forward himself, picked up a bullet, and loaded it urgently.
As the Qin army's warships got closer, the shells in the sky were falling closer and closer. From time to time, one shell would fall next to the artillery position. The "bang bang!" sound was frightening, and the Dutch soldiers on the artillery position were so scared that they kept holding their heads and bowing their heads.
Passat loaded the bullets and took aim himself. This time he was as if assisted by God. After the cannon roared, a huge projectile flew across the sky, ready to hit the tower of the Qin army's first ship.
There was a loud "bang!" from the sea, and the entire ship's tower was blown away at once, leaving the deck in a mess. The Qin soldiers on the deck quickly rushed to the ship's tower, desperately pulling apart the wooden planks to rescue the injured underneath... ... ... .
"God is with us, fire! Fire!"
Passat shouted with ecstasy, kicking and urging the slow soldiers to reload quickly.
Li Rui, the captain of the Qin army's first ship, saw that the warship was in ruins and could not help but be furious: "Fuck, what are you doing? Bomb this mountain, blow it up, and get closer to the artillery position in the south!"
The waves on the sea were getting stronger and stronger, and the Qin army's warships were up and down, which was a great disadvantage. So they could only press forward regardless of the consequences... ... ... ..
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ps: Today is the third update, please give me a monthly ticket! (To be continued...)
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