The sails rise from the sea level.
Just like a forest that had been silent on the bottom of the sea due to the vicissitudes of life, it broke through the water at this moment, and a huge fleet occupied the western sea, rolling in with great momentum. More than 140,000 troops gathered together, and nearly 500 warships shrouded the entire enclosed sea area. They could see each other's flags and the enemy's steel armor gleaming in the sun.
The queen stared at the golden salamander's Jager banner, and raised her hand to give a battle order.
On the flagship, the gunner quickly raised the muzzle of the number gun, and white smoke rolled up from the muzzle. Immediately afterwards, all the warships heard the dull roar like a dragon coming out of its hole. On each warship, the trumpeters blew the horns vigorously, and the long, sharp and piercing sound of the horns stirred up the entire sea area.
Warships hoisting crossed swords and rose flags shuttled through the small islands, and flooded into the open bay like schools of fish.
People on either side realize that this war will exceed their imagination.
The distance between the two sides was less than fifteen miles.
"In the name of the Lord."
Mahler Consul drew a cross on his chest and muttered to himself on the main ship of the Free Chamber of Commerce City "Golden Sparrow". As the consul of a free commercial city, Mahler was not unarmed, but it was the first time he witnessed such a large-scale scene—as if the entire sea was submerged by warships.
The original confidence will inevitably be shaken.
Through the binoculars, you can see the priests on the Roland warship opposite, having the last mass.
"It's really bad." Another consul frowned, "Their situation is better than we thought."
Mahler Consul's face was ugly, and he was aware of this.
As we all know, in the war between Roland and Jager seventeen years ago, King Charles, the father of John VI and later known as "The Butcher", commanded the Jager fleet.
King Charles' "nickname" of the Butcher came from that battle.
After the terrible ruler, who was already old at the time, defeated the Roland navy, he captured most of the opponent's generals. By convention, captured generals—most of them were of noble blood and would not be life-threatening, at most served as rowing slaves for a period of time before being redeemed.
On that occasion, King Charles ignored the Pope's warning and ordered the execution of all Roland's captured admirals.
This incident made the Yager Kingdom notorious and feared.
Since then, the Roland Navy has been in a slump, and has not yet recovered from that war. It can only hide in the harbor protected by shore artillery.
From another perspective, the free commercial city is also the beneficiary of King Charles' massacre of Admiral Roland. King Charles paved the way for Jager's glorious sea road, but his fatuous and tyrannical son John VI failed to develop it. Instead, the free commercial city on one side took the opportunity to rise.
Roland's navy has been in decline for more than ten years, otherwise the warships of the free commercial city would not have been able to travel so arrogantly between the Red Sea and the Sea of Heaven in the past. It is true that warships, cannons, and muskets can be raised in a short time, but experienced captains, sailors, and gunners must accumulate time.
The city of the Free Chamber of Commerce has contempt for Roland to some extent.
They all thought that what they saw would be a fleet that although the number of warships was considerable, the quality and weapons might be good, but the combat was poor. However, the scene in front of them gave them a loud slap in the face.
As the formations of the two sides gradually unfolded, the free commercial city realized that its original estimation was completely wrong.
In such a large-scale naval battle, both sides have to spend a lot of energy arranging combat formations before the official fire - this is not due to chivalry, but is required by realistic conditions. Due to the brutal naval battle conditions, neither fleet could complete the two-round design[1]. After the first round of shooting, the ships of the two sides would soon collide and evolve into a boarding battle. Based on this realistic situation, no matter how anxious and impatient the fleet is, it must show all its patience to line up its troops before opening fire with the enemy.
Wanting to control hundreds of warships on the vast sea, coordinate the distance between them, and maintain the consistency of formation, it is a test of the superb ability of naval commanders.
No matter how exquisite the tactics are, if there is no one who can implement them, they are still a dead letter.
As expected, the chaos in the Roland Navy did not occur.
Based on the royal flagship "Empire" in the middle, the huge Roland fleet formed a continuously fluctuating curve on the sea surface, adjusting its position in an orderly manner. [2] The distance between every two approaching warships is gradually stabilizing within a hundred steps.
"It's the pirates."
The companion standing next to the Mahler Consul was silent for a long time, then said with a sigh.
Their emotions were so complicated that they couldn't say anything else for a while. Queen Roland recruited a group of pirates. They were all aware of this, but no one took it to heart. The four countries fighting here today have the most powerful navies in the entire Sea of Heaven. They have fought each other for many years and know each other very well—just like the navy of a free commercial city is often troubled by agents of the chamber of commerce, Yager , Root and Roland's navies are also restricted by those naval nobles.
Before that, they all thought that the pirates recruited by Queen Roland would only serve as side support.
It wasn't until they saw it with their own eyes that they had no choice but to believe that Queen Roland's determination and perseverance were really so terrifying—she really resisted the pressure of those families and appointed those experienced pirates who had always been despised by people. Take real power and reuse.
She dispersed the experienced and capable pirates to each battleship, and used these valuable sea talents as the mesh to re-tighten the giant net of the Roland fleet.
The consuls looked at each other.
how to say
Before that, they were like four equally massive giants, fighting in familiar fashion at sea. Each of them is aware of how bloated and outdated the other's operating mechanism is, but now one of them suddenly injects fresh blood with a determination that the other three did not expect.
In the end, the hoisting of the signal flag on Andret's flagship ended the silence.
The fleet of the Free Commercial City also began to line up, although Andret's proposal for a mixed formation was rejected by John VI. However, John VI has always been worried about the free commercial city. In order to prevent the fleet of the free commercial city from escaping, they were organized on the right side farthest from the coastline.
In order to occupy the designated position, the Mahler consul had to command his fleet to travel more distances.
The only good news is that at this time there is a slight wind on the sea, and the direction of the wind is in their favor. The Mahler consul took this as a good omen.
…………………
Abigail is constantly delivering semaphores.
The fleet of the Root Empire is on the right, the Roland fleet is on the left, and the warships form a line. Inside the Roland fleet, after these days of discussions, the fleet was finally divided into four parts. The larger and heavier ships of the Roland Royal Navy are located in the center and right flank, and together with the left and center armies of the Root Empire, they face the most powerful enemy main force. Strong, threatening the right-wing fleet of the free commercial city at the waist of the front. Eventually the pirates' own ships were organized into a mobile support reserve.
The orderly formation of the Roland fleet, which the Mahler consuls were astonished, benefited from one thing in addition to the selected experienced pirates as captains: the signal flag.
On the vast sea, the connection between warships cannot be completed directly. Semaphores, boat orders, and trumpet guns are common means of communication in fleet operations. However, the information that the naval semaphore can convey is limited, and the semaphore that is too simple can be easily deciphered. The speed and risk of small boats are worrisome. Although the number gun is effective, it is easy to be confused when the war really starts.
In response to this, Abigail improved the original semaphore of the Roland fleet and replaced it with the one familiar to the pirates.
Compared with the original Navy's signal semaphore system, the pirates' semaphore can hold more and more accurate information. In the past, the popular semaphore semaphore among pirates had to be recognizable by dozens of pirate regiments, large and small, and at the same time not be deciphered by the authorities. Over time, a sophisticated semaphore system gradually formed. The pirates were dispersed and rearranged into the fleet, and this semaphore system covered the entire Roland fleet.
While the fleet was constantly adjusting its formation under the command of Abigail, the mass hosted by the priests was coming to an end.
At this moment the queen boarded a light clipper three-masted ship, and began to inspect the drawn formation.
She didn't wear a fancy dress, but a silver armor, which was extremely dazzling under the rising sun. She held a sharp crossed sword in her hand, and her red cloak fluttered in the wind like the most arrogant rose petals, and she stood as straight as a long sword drawn out of its sheath. In front of rows of warships, she did not show any weakness.
Some people in the navy may have been indifferent to this young ruler of the empire, but when they saw her facing the turbulent sea, the forest-like enemy fleet still did not change their expressions, and they were all in awe.
The young queen surveyed her army, encouraging all with her determination:
…
My brave soldier, I was told to wait farther and safer for the war to end, but a voice in my chest urged me to come here, to join you.
My brave soldiers, as we all know, it was here fourteen years ago, in these sad seas, that I lost the Isle of Leicester and the glory of the Empire. Those unyielding soldiers who held their loyalty to the empire were brutally killed. This is an unforgivable and unforgetable shame.
Although I am only a woman[3], my heart burns like red fire when I think of the enemy's wanton interception of our ships in the sea of heaven. So I'm here, to live and die with you. I have the same determination as yours. To defend the dignity of the empire, I am willing to sacrifice my soul, my life, and everything with you!
My brave soldiers! A month ago, we took back the Isle of Leicester, and now we are going to take back the glory of the Empire!
look! Ahead is our enemy!
It's time to fight!
The author has something to say: [1][2] The naval warfare in this article generally refers to Roger Crowley's "Empire of the Sea: Armageddon in the Mediterranean", Noelle's "Dictionary of Naval Terms" and Andrew Lambert's " Sea Warfare in the Age of Sails" is artistically processed as needed.
[3] [It was swallowed by Jinjiang, please see the comment area for a complete explanation] The Queen’s pre-war speech in the article comprehensively refers to Don Juan’s speech encouraging soldiers in the Battle of Lepanto, Elizabeth I’s speech against the Spanish Armada and Some other pre-war speeches in history were drafted after combining the specific history of Roland in the text.
Let me explain a little bit about the meaning of the Queen's blunt statement "Although I am only a woman". As mentioned in the previous chapters, the core of the power and responsibility of the kings at that time was mainly divided into two parts: the judiciary and the army. Leading an army to fight is considered the sacred duty of kings, and people have been accustomed to such a tradition for a long time. In this article, when Adele Roland fought against Jager and the Allies of the Free Commercial City, she was the first female monarch in the history of the empire and the first female ruler to command the army. There is no doubt that this will cause the sergeant's psychological in a weak position. Avoiding talking about this in an army that is largely male will do nothing but fuel distrust among soldiers.