But when the battle has reached this point, it is useless to think too much, so you can only fight first!

The two battleships gave full play to their firepower superiority, and after staggering with the two British battleships, they aimed at the armed merchant ships that rushed up, and began a dense baptism of firepower.

Under the command of the officer, the gunners took the red-hot lead bullets from the brick-built fire pit on the deck, and then covered the lead bullets with lead skins and quickly stuffed them into the barrels. With a single order, dozens of red-hot buckshot bullets were fired towards the sails of the British ships. The sail that was hit ignited as soon as it caught fire, and the flames spread at a frightening speed with the help of the fierce sea breeze. The officers and sailors on the British armed merchant ship were in a panic, and in an instant they had extinguished any intention of fighting, and began to scramble to save the canvas.

"The Brit still don't have a long memory." Sang Kai said with a smile after looking at it, "I remember that we had already taught them a lesson off the coast of Portugal half a year ago, but I didn't expect them to be so stupid that they didn't grow at all. ”

"No, this returning fleet is clearly the East India Company fleet that went to trade in the Far East." Lu Ming shook his head and said, "Maybe they went to India more than a year ago, and now they have just set foot on their return journey." The enemy is not stupid, and some tricks can only be used once. Now, cheer me up and fight the British hard! ”

The gunners fired more than 100 rounds of red-hot shells in succession, draining the heated shells in the fire pit. The reddish shells caused numerous small fires on the two British merchant ships that came at us, and one of the lucky shells broke a powder shell on the deck. The powder keg that was ignited in an instant exploded in a terrifying way, and a huge wave of air directly shook many large and small shells, tools, and even human bodies placed next to the powder keg. Even the gun carriage turned straight into the sea.

The officers and men of the East Coast Navy, who witnessed this tragic scene, whistled happily. They rolled up their sleeves. Explosive bombs with truncated fuses were stuffed into the barrel of the gun, and the British once again created a large number of death gifts. The Navy's explosive shells seemed to be much better than those fired by the Army, almost more than half of the shells exploded in the air accurately above the decks of enemy ships, and scattered iron nails and pieces of iron burrowed into the bodies of the British sailors on the deck who were busy fighting fires, and then rolled, exhausting their kinetic energy before coming to a standstill. These horrific shell fragments inflicted heavy casualties on the British, and the sailors involved in the firefighting, as well as many gunners standing on deck, were knocked out in large areas.

Blazing bombs and explosive bombs are an effective and "vicious" tactic that the East Coast Navy has explored. It was particularly effective against the merchant ships and warships of Spain and Britain, which were overcrowded.

The explosive bombs were followed by a dense attack of grapeshot, solid iron balls, and in short, the strike fleet led by two battleships managed to paralyze the two British armed merchant ships in front of them in just twenty minutes. According to the estimates of the second lieutenant of the navy, the British sailors on the two ships combined suffered more than 100 casualties, and the casualty rate reached 60%, and they had basically lost their combat effectiveness.

And the two British battleships that entered the battle at the beginning were also heavily damaged, although they still maintained considerable combat effectiveness, but it is undeniable that the losses in personnel and artillery were not small.

That's the power of a battleship! The thick planks, the large number of guns, and the high sides of the ship made the shelling of these small-tonnage British battleships unsatisfactory. Especially at close range, due to the insufficient elevation angles of artillery. Very often it was possible to bombard only the broadside decks of two battleships. However, the 8-pounder and 12-pounder guns they were generally equipped with could not penetrate the deck of the waterline of the "10 August" class battleships that were more than four meters thick and nearly five meters thick in a short period of time. Due to the quality of their artillery, they were not able to fire with strong charges as often as the East Coasters, which further reduced the power of the artillery.

All in all, even in close combat, the two "August 10" class battleships were completely unafraid of the siege of the few British warships, and it was nothing more than how much to pay.

Five battleships lined up in a tight formation, two battleships in front and frigates and transports in the back, roamed the sea like a fire-breathing dragon, fighting all the enemies that stood in their way.

However, it was not them who were the most brilliant today, and the two Yangwu-class fast cruisers took advantage of their high speed to the extreme in the vast South Atlantic. They roamed the flanks of the British fleet, using their guns to target the sluggish and slow merchant ships that were laden with cargo, and fired blazing bombs, explosives, grapeshot, chain, and solid iron bullets at them, destroying their hulls and canvases, and killing and wounding their men.

Like the most cunning gray wolves in the steppe, the two warships followed the migrating herd of bison, picking out the weakest-looking calf from time to time, jumping up and biting it, and then quietly fleeing before the leading bull could react.

The sails of the "Yangwu" and "Yangwei" were carefully selected veterans, and even the chief navigator was an experienced veteran, and the two graceful and long warships roamed around the British fleet like white stripes in the waves under their control, which made the British extremely distressed.

You say go after it, this boat doesn't work if it's less. It is necessary to mobilize five or six ships, including two warships, to board them together, so that it is possible to use the numerical advantage to block them, and then calmly compress their activity space, and then use the numerical superiority to win the battle after they get closer. But the problem is that the six ships in front of you seem to be being miserably abused by the East Coasters, and they urgently need your help, and if you leave them alone to fight these two "clippers", it will be tantamount to pronouncing the death sentence of the first few ships; But if you don't care about these two ships, she will keep harassing you by the side, and something will definitely happen after a long time.

It's a dilemma. However, the commander of the British did seem more decisive, and he did not dwell too much on the issue, perhaps because he did not have much time to think about it. In short, all the British ships shrank in formation and rushed straight ahead, intending to join up with the six ships in front of them, and then find a way to gain the upper hand, and then either continue the battle or disengage and regroup. can be done relatively easily.

Since the British ignored the existence of the "Yangwu" and "Yangwei". Then these two fast warships will naturally not be polite anymore. They picked on a British merchant ship that had been ravaged a long time ago, approached and bombarded it with their broadside guns. The British merchant ship also saw that something was wrong, but the hull full of porcelain, tea and silk was too clumsy. Soon, its foremast was torn and broken by a chain bullet fired by the "Yangwei", and the four sails of the midmast were also damaged to varying degrees, and the most seriously damaged upper sail was almost completely broken and leaking, and could no longer provide power for navigation.

Having plummeted to more than two knots, she soon fell behind and fell prey to the fast cruisers "Yangwei" and "Yangwu". The desperate British captain ordered the crew to throw boxes of valuable Oriental cargo into the sea. In order to reduce the weight of the boat as much as possible, it is easy to escape. But his actions were in vain, and the speed of more than two knots was vulnerable to the speed of ten knots, and she was soon drowned in a rain of bullets fired from two fast cruisers.

Lu Ming vigilantly looked at the British main fleet that was gradually approaching, and began to order the five warships to turn. He was not prepared to lead his fleet in the way of the British, which would cause his fleet to fall into a large number of British ships, so that the British could take full advantage of the large number of ships to engage in chaotic warfare. Then their losses will be infinitely magnified, and if they are unlucky, the desperate British can even jump on their own ships, which is a bit unlucky.

Moreover, he had a faint sense that the British were not very strong. They seem to be more anxious to get rid of the harassment of their own fleet and leave first. Is it because you feel that you are not sure of victory? Or is it because the cargo on board is so valuable, and the loss of one is extremely staggering?

That's fine, Lu Ming secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to fight with them, following behind and attacking those merchant ships was his favorite thing to do. If you fight hard with the British today, then you may be able to win, but you will inevitably have to pay the price of sinking one or two battleships. The capital of the navy on the east coast is too small to withstand too many losses, and it is generally a last resort, and Lu Ming is reluctant to fight hard with the enemy.

After the two fleets of the British converged, they adjusted their formation slightly. In the process, the artillery battle on the periphery of the two sides was also going on, and the two "August 10" gunboats engaged in fierce fire with four British battleships. In just over ten minutes between the two sides, hundreds of shells were poured on each other's warships. The superstructure of four British warships and one approaching armed merchant ship was swept aside, and the sailors suffered extremely heavy casualties.

And the side of the people on the eastern coast was not without losses, and the worst luck of them was the frigate "Beagle", which was behind the most ugly. Unfortunately, she had one of her masts broken by the British ship's 18-pounder gun, and the rudder control bar was badly damaged, and the Corsair's converted battleship suddenly lost control and floated on the surface.

Maybe it was the British warships who wanted to buy more time for the evacuation of merchant ships, or maybe they really didn't want to let go of the opportunity to beat the water dogs. Four warships and one armed merchant ship braved the gunfire of the "10 August" and other battleships to get close to the "Beagle" within more than 300 meters, and then concentrated their firepower to bombard it.

After all, the "Beagle" was converted from a corsair, which was distinguished by maneuverability and speed, and its protection was even below the average level. Therefore, it was a little powerless in the face of the siege of the British, and the deck at the waterline was pierced several holes in succession, and the sailors frantically closed the holes with canvases. At the same time, several hand-pumping machines on board were in action, and streams of water were pumped up from the bilge and discharged into the sea through drainage holes. However, this is not enough compared to the sea water that rushes into the bilge, which is increasing little by little.

The battleships such as the "10 August", which had turned around, approached again and frantically shelled the British in order to relieve the pressure on the "Beagle". The British, having succeeded in their gains, quickly turned and began to evacuate, their merchant ships had already traveled a considerable distance, they had done their duty, and it was time to think about themselves.

By this time, two Yangwu-class fast cruisers had sunk the British merchant ship and began to rush towards this side. As a result, five British ships and five East Coast warships engaged in a chase at sea (the transport ship "Abbot" stayed behind to help the "Beagle"). Four British warships and an armed merchant ship fled separately, and the navy on the east coast was unmoved, and after selecting the target, two fast cruisers first caught up with the enemy ship by using high speed, and through interception, artillery bombardment, and other means, the enemy ship had to turn or slow down because the sails and masts were damaged, and after the enemy ship slowed down, the main fleet swarmed up again and besieged it.

The chase continued until nightfall, when two of the five fleeing British ships were sunk. The remaining ships disappeared into the vast sea under the cover of night. By the time the main fleet gave up the pursuit and returned, Chen Tumu, the captain of the "Beagle," and his crew were already standing helplessly on the deck of the "Abbot" transport ship. As for the sad "Beagle", it has become a new paradise for fish at the bottom of the Atlantic.

A battle loss ratio of 3:1! Lu Ming suddenly felt a little toothache, and his ship was missing...... (To be continued......)