Chapter 134: The Two Sides Deploy Their Formations A naval battle is imminent

After leaving Alexandria, the mighty Yaogang fleet sailed in formation. A warship of 1,800 tons made the way ahead. Thanks to the Francis (Portuguese) piloting the route, the fleet could line up and row west across the Mediterranean at high speed.

Just as Mu Yi and the others expected, a fleet of hundreds of large ships in front of them was meeting them.

France is now in its heyday, ending the Hundred Years' War between England and France, and in the war against Italy, she has taken over the bishoprics of Calais and Metz, Tours, and Verdun. In particular, Henry IV, the first king of the Bourbon dynasty, tried his best to restore peace and recuperate after succeeding to the throne, and later after the rectification of the bishops' ministers Richelieu and Mazarin, to the current period of Louis XIV's personal government, the French autocratic royal power has also entered the heyday. However, to Louis XIV's dismay, his mother, Regent Anna of Austria, with the support of Cardinal Mazarin, has always held real power. He is also a puppet.

Cardinal Mazarin, however, was a fanatical religious spirit, and hated the pagans from the East. When I heard that the fleet of the Ming Dynasty had sailed to the West and the Mediterranean, I felt that it was simply intolerable. The Francos (Spaniards) came to ask for a coalition against these Ming Dynasty people, and were immediately enthusiastically supported by Cardinal Mazarin.

With Cardinal Mazarin's support, Anna will also support this matter, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty destroyed the armed merchant ships of France, interrupted their trade routes to the East, and made French spices as expensive as gold. This revenge is even more to be avenged. In addition, those spices from the East are the necessities of the life of the French people, and they are as important as salt, so the source of the spices must be controlled by France himself. Now the fleet of the Ming Dynasty dared to come to the Mediterranean, which was simply a contempt for the great France. Anna also knew that the Ming Dynasty's naval army was very powerful, and the warships of several countries in the East could not deal with them when they joined forces. But as the King of Spain wrote, if we can't concentrate our forces on this lone army. If the fleet of the Easterners were to be stationed in the West, it would be a disaster for the West as a whole. So Anna asked King Louis XIV to order all the ships in the Mediterranean to join the Spaniards and unite to encircle and annihilate the Ming Dynasty's fleet.

The Italians were also requested by the Spaniards, and although their power was not very strong, they were also relatively large countries on the Mediterranean coast, and there were more than a hundred warships in the Mediterranean.

The three kingdoms all knew that the warships of the Ming Dynasty were very powerful, so they decided to participate in the war against the Ming Dynasty, and the requirements were large ships of more than 300 tons. Thus the Spaniards had the largest number of ships in the war, more than 500, the French with 250, and the Italians with 100.

The three countries formed the Mediterranean Fleet, known as a thousand warships, and the commander-in-chief was the Count of Castile, appointed by Carlos II of Spain.

The Count of Castile participated in many naval battles, and although Spain lost the naval battle with the British, no other country could match the number of ships left and the number of new ships built. In particular, they have a group of very experienced captains. This is also the confidence of the Count of Castile to defeat the Ming Dynasty fleet. The same ship, in the hands of an experienced captain, and in the hands of an inexperienced captain is too different.

Another point of consolation to the Count of Castile was that this time both the French and Italian naval warships offered to submit to the unified command of the Spaniards. He knew that everyone understood that if a mass of loose sand could not be formed together, it would be easy to be divided and destroyed by the enemy.

After the warships of various countries were assembled, the Count of Castile gathered the main generals of the three kingdoms together to carefully study the strategy and tactics. What they are most worried about is that they don't know when the Ming Dynasty fleet will come back, because the fleet can't wait at sea all the time, but if they don't wait, it is likely that they will find their fleet and then chase it too late, just like the last time the Spanish fleet waited for a long time and let go of the Ming Dynasty fleet.

Therefore, all countries used all the intelligence personnel they could use to inquire about the movements of the Ming Dynasty's fleet.

Sure enough, almost all of the intelligence officers of the three countries found out the time when the Ming Dynasty fleet left Alexandria and returned home, and their intelligence officers spent a high price to hire a fast ship to leave Alexandria as soon as possible to deliver news to the meeting. Although these intelligence officers left the port a few days earlier, the speed of their sailing ships was still much slower than that of the Yaogang motor boats, so the information they sent arrived more than two days earlier than the Ming Dynasty fleet.

The Count of Castile was overjoyed to synthesize the information sent back by the Three Kingdoms, and he knew that this information was simply hard to buy. However, they only knew that the Ming Dynasty ship was maneuvering very fast, and they didn't know how fast it was. So they organized the warships to leave the port as soon as possible and enter their preset sea areas.

Leaving Alexandria is a rare sight of cloudless skies on the Mediterranean Sea and calm seas. Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong were both sitting on the foredeck of the Taishan basking in the sun.

Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi: "It's so good! We could have had a good night's sleep for a few days! ”

Mu Yi said: "Yes! Soon there will be a battle! The brothers are suffocated! ”

"Commander Mu, where do you think our respectable opponents will be waiting for us?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Huh! At least they will not set up an ambush east of Sicily! Mu Yi said, "In this case, they will have to travel far away." Besides, they won't have time to get the information! I think they should be waiting for us at the east entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar most likely! ”

"Let's make a bet, I'll bet they'll be in the sea south of the Balearic Islands that we have to pass through." Zheng Zhilong said, "You guess the east of the Strait of Gibraltar, if the Francois (Spanish) deal with us themselves, it must be there!" But if the French and Italians were to take part in it, then the Francos would take care of them, and their own fleet would have to travel a little longer. ”

"Hmmm! There's a point in what you're saying! Mu Yi said approvingly, "Actually, no matter where it is, it's the same for us!" We have to teach them a lesson this time, or we will be in trouble the next time we come back! ”

"Actually, I'd like them to do it sooner! Then we can turn around and go to their Marseille and Rome! Zheng Zhilong said.

"Oh? You mean, we're going to put a few artillery battles on their coastal cities, as we did in Japan? Mu Yi looked at Zheng Zhilong and asked.

Zheng Zhilong rolled his eyes and looked at Mu Yi for a moment, and asked, "The deputy commander didn't think about this?" ”

"Hey! I thought that our first voyage was going to be a success. Didn't want to attack France and Italy. But now I think we can do something if it doesn't affect us to complete this voyage! ”

"How about leaving this matter to me, Deputy Commander, Lao Zheng?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"Who is different between you and me?"

"No, no, when my old Zheng was a pirate, I was thinking, when will Lao Tzu take people to those Westerners' houses to rob them? Now that we're back, we can't go ashore to grab it, but firing at them can relieve our hatred! Zheng Zhilong said.

"Good! I'll leave it to you! Mu Yi readily agreed.

"Great!" Hearing Mu Yi's promise, Zheng Zhilong's heart felt like drinking honey.

For the whole fleet to sail in formation, the fleet could not be very fast, and after a long seven-day voyage, the fleet reached the vicinity of Sardinia. At this time, Mu Yi used the radio to inform the entire fleet that it was necessary to carry out a first-level alert. Because the combined fleet of Francis, the French, and the Italians will not miss the opportunity to encircle and annihilate them.

But after walking for more than a day and a half, I still didn't see any shadow of the big ship. Zheng Zhilong knew that the fleet couldn't always be so tense, but he couldn't relax, so Zheng Zhilong kept reminding everyone on the radio.

After the Yaogang fleet left Alexandria, the weather was very beautiful and very sunny. But now it suddenly became a little foggy, Zheng Zhilong frowned and said, "Commander Mu, it seems that God is towards the Xiyi people!" ”

"It's okay! If it's foggy, we have radio detectors and radio sights on board, and we'll take advantage! Mu Yi said.

"That's not what I'm talking about, what I'm worried about is that if there is a fight, there are many enemy ships, and it will be difficult to annihilate them all if there is fog." Zheng Zhilong said.

"Try your best! We want to annihilate all enemy ships, but the difficulty is too great! This is the doorstep of the people after all! Mu Yi said, "I took a look, there is a small clipper in the distance, and it is estimated that the enemy is not far away." I think we should control the speed of the boat. It's best to go to war with the enemy tomorrow morning! ”

"Hmmm! I think it's the best, too! So that we can fight for a day, fight during the day, and our cargo ships that don't have radio detectors can play some role!" Zheng Zhilong agreed.

"It's better not to use those cargo ships to join the war," Mu Yi said, "or we'll have to distract ourselves." ”

"I'm afraid it won't work, this time they have joined forces with a ship. However, don't worry, the combat power of our cargo ships is not comparable to their warships! Zheng Zhilong said with certainty.

In fact, the most nervous at this time was Mu Yi and their opponents.

The plan of the Count of Castile was that the Spanish fleet, as the main force of this operation, would meet the front of the Ming fleet. The French fleet was to attack the rear of the Ming fleet from east to west from the north, and the Italian fleet was to attack the rear of the Ming fleet from west to east from the south.

Their preset battlefield was south of the Balearic Islands, which was exactly the same as Zheng Zhilong's estimate. Another point, which coincides with the two sides, is that they both hope that the battle will start in the morning. However, the Count of Castile was worried that the Ming Dynasty fleet would escape, while Mu Yi was worried that he would not be able to destroy more enemies.

As if God was afraid of the bloody day to come, a thick fog rose on the sea at night. The radio detectors on all the ships in the Yaogang fleet were on, and the speed of the fleet slowed down.

Zheng Zhilong scolded, "Damn, if the fog doesn't clear tomorrow, I'm afraid we'll pass through the Balearic Islands." The enemy is so foggy that he will never dare to sail, and will find a place to anchor. ”

"Huh! If we pass and we still don't meet the enemy, we send the ships to the eastern entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar and come back to them. If we can't find them, we go to Marseille to visit them! In short, you can't come for nothing! Mu Yi said.

"Haha!" Zheng Zhilong laughed and said, "I agree with you! ”

After staying up all night, at dawn, Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong, who had barely slept all night, came to the deck, and the fog still had no intention of dissipating. Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong were a little discouraged, because such a heavenly enemy ship could not be driven at all.

When Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong returned to the warehouse for breakfast, and then returned to the cockpit, the captain said happily: "Report!" The fog has the meaning of dissipating! ”

"Huh?"

Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong said "ah" at the same time!

The two of them went to the deck and found that sure enough, the fog was slowly dissipating under the rising sunlight. At this time, the captain came out again and reported, "The radio detector has found that there are echoes of a large number of ships on the sea in front of them, and they are tracking and detecting them further!" ”

"Haha! The show is about to begin! Zheng Zhilong said with a laugh.

"Huh!" Mu Yi also smiled and said, "The enemy must have not discovered us yet, they were worried that we would escape again, so they anchored in the channel we were traveling." ”

"Good! Just waiting for them! Zheng Zhilong, who is very familiar with the tactics of the Xiyi people, said, "Notify the warships behind to prevent the enemy from stealing from behind." Xiyi people have this ability, we must be prepared! ”

As the fleet continued to move forward, and the fog quickly cleared, the radio detectors had completely determined that there were countless warships on the sea ahead. A little later, the captain of the 1,800-ton warship in front reported that the lookout had discovered that there was a large number of sailing ships on the sea ahead.

Mu Yi said to Zheng Zhilong: "Let's start!" ”

Mu Yi's fleet tactics are also very clear, regardless of the enemy ships behind and on both flanks, take advantage of the speed advantage to move forward quickly, throw off the enemy ships behind and on both flanks, directly attack the front to intercept their enemy's main force, and then turn back to patrol the enemy behind and on both flanks.

The Yaogang fleet quickly formed two horizontal lines, with the warships in front and the cargo ships in the back, and rushed towards the enemy ships in front.

In front of it was really the Spanish fleet led by the Count of Castile himself, which was a huge fleet of more than 500 warships, and it was also the largest warship assembly after Spain's defeat to the British. Both Carlos II and the ministers hoped to save some of the face of the Armada and Spain through this battle.

Like Mu Yi and the others, the Count of Castile was plagued by a thick fog. However, in order to avoid letting the Ming Dynasty fleet escape, he ordered all the warships to anchor in the channel that the Ming Dynasty fleet must pass, although this is a very dangerous practice, because there are so many ships in the fog, once there are ships at anchor, it is easy to cause a collision. But the Count of Castile could not care about this, and fortunately all night was uneventful. The Count of Castile had not slept all night, and had almost always prayed that the fog would clear at dawn.

It seemed that it was really his prayers that worked, and after dawn the wind picked up on the sea and the fog cleared. But the wind was crosswindy, and the Count of Castile regretted not praying to God for a good wind to-day. However, crosswinds are also much stronger than headwinds and no winds.

Before the Count of Castile could give the order to raise the anchor, the lookout exclaimed: "There is a column of smoke ahead!" ”

"There's a column of smoke!" This is something that all Western crew members don't know what it means.

The Count of Coloria, who had been rewarded, immediately ordered, "Hang the flag!" Notify the fleet to anchor and line up! ”

The Count of Castile calmed down for a moment, and said in his heart, "Looking forward to the Ming Dynasty fleet, I didn't expect it to be like this!" I hope my fleet will be ready for battle soon! ”

The Count of Castile, seeing his large fleet, had already lined up in several rows by virtue of its numbers, and rushed forward by the crosswind. But after a while, he found out. The opponents in front of them also rushed in a horizontal line.

The Count of Castile thought to himself, "Aren't you fools to hedge against us like this?" "However, if you think about it again, the warships of the Ming Dynasty are powered by steam, so you don't need to borrow the wind.

Looking at the approaching Ming Dynasty warship, the pillar of smoke on the opponent's warship could already be seen clearly. The Count of Castile pondered at what distance he ordered the ship to turn sideways so that the cannon on the side of the ship could be used to fire at the enemy.

On the Tarzan opposite the Count of Castile, Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong used binoculars to see the Spanish fleet on the opposite side clearly.

Zheng Zhilong scolded: "Damn! The Francos really didn't grow. After the defeat of them and the English, how did they not know how to improve it! ”

"Huh? Lao Zheng, what do you see again? Mu Yi put down the binoculars in his hand and asked.

"Do you see? The dozen or so galleons of more than 1,000 tons in front of them are still their main warships. The ship's building is still so high! Zheng Zhilong said.

"Yes! Such a tall ship building can't be very maneuverable at sea, and the surface of the bomb is still very large! Mu Yi said.

"Their tactics were still to get close to the enemy ships, and then the infantry jumped from the ship's tower onto the enemy ships. But the British studied them thoroughly and did not come near them at all. It's about using artillery against them. The British did not have such a bulky ship on board, and the Spaniards, who were mobile and nimble, had no way at all! Zheng Zhilong said.

"Yes! Did the Spaniards still not improve? Mu Yi also didn't understand.

"It's a pity that I haven't found their ironclad yet. Is it that the ironclad ships are all in the South Seas for us to sink? Zheng Zhilong said.

"Hmmm! There are not many warships of more than a thousand tons in front! That's dozens of them. There are too many hundreds of tons to count! Mu Yi said.

"Assign these warships of more than 1,000 tons, knock them out first, and the rest will be easy to say!" Zheng Zhilong said.

"I don't care about that! I'm still watching the fun! Mu Yi said with a teacup.

Zheng Zhilong didn't speak, he called the staff officer for a few points, and the staff officer ran back to the cockpit to assign tasks to the fleet!