Chapter 136: Defeat the Italo-French Coalition Target: Marseille, France

In order to facilitate the positioning of each ship in the sea formation, radio beacons are installed on each ship in Yaogang according to different frequencies. If a ship wants to find the position of a particular ship, the navigator will be able to determine the direction of the ship according to this particular frequency.

The ships of Yaogang were originally very happy, but after receiving the order, they had to give up the prey they were pursuing. Turning the radio navigator to the frequency of the Tarzan, the direction was determined, and the Tarzan approached.

Before the Yaogang fleet could form a formation, the French and Italian fleets chased after Yang Fan.

As each of their ships was speeding up their pursuit, and the speed of each ship was different, whether it was the French or Italian fleet, there was no formation and a large area was scattered. There were few kiln warships, and it was impossible to discharge the width that could correspond to them.

Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi: "Commander Mu, we have to change the way we play!" ”

"Lao Zheng, if you have a good idea, just say it!"

"I don't think the enemy has a formation, and we are fighting with them. Let's keep the cargo ship in formation and retreat, keeping our distance from the enemy. The cargo ships are all wooden ships, and there is a lot of cargo on board, and a few shells can cause losses. Keep them out of enemy range at all times. Just leave two frigates to accompany them. Our boat went straight to meet us, so that we could get a result before it got dark! "Zheng Zhilong has a very fast brain, and he is even more handy at sea. With a warship like Yaogang in hand, it was like a tiger with wings, and when he saw the enemy situation in front of him, new ideas immediately came out.

"Good idea, just listen to you!" Mu Yi admired his partner very much and immediately agreed with him.

Hearing that Mu Yi agreed with his opinion, Zheng Zhilong personally picked up the radio microphone. Combat orders were given to the ships.

After receiving Zheng Zhilong's order, the cargo ships and the warships formed a horizontal line at intervals and rushed towards the enemy ships.

The French and Italian fleets, hearing the rumbling of cannons, rushed over, but did not meet the Spanish ships, and at the same time chased them downwind in the direction of the cannons. They thought that the Spaniards and the Ming Dynasty fleet had fought a bloody battle, and they rushed over and added more strength, and they annihilated the Ming Dynasty fleet. Their own losses are minimal, and the benefits are not small. If it's too late, let the Spaniards scold it!

When pursuing, the French and Italian warships were really fighting for the lead, and the formation that was difficult to fast was chaotic. Whether it is the French or the Italian commanders, they all feel that the battle in front of them has been fought on this side, and there is no formation, so let's give full play to the advantage of our large number of ships to fight chaos. Anyway, it's time to clean up the mess.

But they didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty fleet in front of them suddenly assembled, and it was very mobile. Even more terrifying, a Spanish warship was also out of sight. However, the flotilla that sailed with the wind could not be stopped, and the flagships of the French and Italian fleets successively hoisted the flags ready for battle.

To the surprise of all the warships in France and Italy, when the ship in front was still more than a thousand meters away from the Ming Dynasty ship, the Ming Dynasty warship began to open fire.

Soon the two fastest boats in front of them exploded, the kind of explosion where the whole ship blossomed outward, not the result of being hit and leaking and sinking. This frightened the sailors and captains of the warships of the two countries behind. They don't know why the cannonballs of the Ming Dynasty are so powerful. The sound was so shocking. At this time, the French and Italian fleets had no chance to turn back, so they could only rush forward.

After a kilometer of distance between the two sides, the Yaogang warship suddenly accelerated forward, but the Yaogang cargo ship did not speed up, and the 12.7 mm heavy machine guns on their ship opened fire at the same time.

Within a thousand meters, heavy machine guns fired at huge wooden ships, and the hit rate was still very high. The 12.7 mm bullet team, the sails, rigging, and sailors on board the wooden ships were even more staggering.

As the Yaogang warship got closer and closer, the hit rate of the shells also increased. When the French and Italian warships entered the effective firing distance of 400 meters, their warships were also firing thousands of cannons. However, the guns on their warships were all guns with two wheels in the back, and the hit rate was not high, and they couldn't keep up with the speed of the kiln gang ship to adjust the muzzle. Hardly any effect on the Yaogang warship. Occasionally, spherical shells pierced the side of the warship, and they were saved by jumping overboard. There were also a few rolls on the deck and explosions, but it had no effect on the gunners hiding in the gun shields.

It was such a scene that both the French and the Italians understood why they did not see the ships of the Spaniards. Fighting with such a fleet, for such a long time, there are simply no ships left.

However, when they saw the Yaogang warship rushing over and approaching their ship, they felt that hope had come, and many ships came over to help jump on the Ming Dynasty warship, which was their best tactic.

At such a close distance, the cannon is really useless. But the heavy machine guns on the ship line came into play.

Seeing that they were about to dock with the Ming Dynasty warship, the sailors and soldiers on the French and Italian ships waved their knives excitedly and shouted. But something terrible happened to them.

The Yaogang warship suddenly remembered the sound of "bang" that could tear people's eardrums, and then a rain of metal bullets swept towards the approaching warship. The soldiers who were about to jump out were immediately torn apart by the rain of bullets, and many holes were pierced through the ship, and many soldiers who were hiding under the side of the ship in a hurry were also shattered by the bullets from the piercing side of the ship. This terrifying scene stunned these soldiers who were crazy and wanted to jump and fight. The rain of bullets without pause immediately tore this usually majestic-looking warship apart. The overwhelmed mast also collapsed, turning the leaky ship sideways.

This kind of thing was only a few minutes of delay for the Yaogang warship. They won't be delayed for too long for a warship.

The Taishan of Yaogang didn't even bother to shoot at them with a heavy machine gun, and it would directly knock them apart one by one.

The mountain-like Tarzan rushed up at an astonishing speed, and those large enemy ships were able to be smashed into pieces by them at once, but those small ships could not be hit, and they were all pushed away by the waves in front of the Tarzan, and of course they were also pushed away.

When the other warships in Yaogang saw the Taishan like this, they also increased their speed to the fastest and began to rampage. Encounter a larger warship before firing a shot, or sweep a string of bullets with a heavy machine gun.

By the time the enemy ships had left, the shells on the ships had been fired. Close melee is basically a one-shot enemy ship.

If you are not sunk against the Yaogang warship, you will have to face the cargo ship in Yaogang in the past. The Yaogang cargo ship adopted the tactic of fighting and retreating, using heavy machine guns and infantry guns on the bow to constantly greet the enemy ships.

After more than an hour of fighting, it was difficult to find the relatively large enemy ships on the sea, including the flagships of the French and Italian fleets, which were crushed and sunk.

Zheng Zhilong, who was excited, said to Mu Yi: "Let's start cleaning up the mess!" ”

"Hmmm! Tell everyone not to chase too far. Be sure to come back before dark. Mu Yi said.

"Alas!" Zheng Zhilong sighed and said, "This battle is enjoyable, but the battle is still a bit of a loss." ”

"Huh? What did Lao Zheng say? Mu Yi didn't understand.

"I'm afraid those sailing ships are not worth a shell from us?" Zheng Zhilong said.

"Huh! In this way, I also think they are taking advantage of it! Mu Yi smiled and said, "However, the fish in the Mediterranean will definitely be very fat next year!" ”

"Haha! You might be able to taste the taste of human flesh! Zheng Zhilong said with a laugh.

Mu Yi came to the map and said to Zheng Zhilong: "Anchor tonight, let's study it, do you want to visit Marseille tomorrow?" ”

"No need to anchor!" Zheng Zhilong said, "We went to Marseille overnight. Strive to get things done the day after tomorrow! ”

At this time, the staff officer pushed the door and came in, "Report, the commander on the Spanish flagship has brought!" ”

"Oh! Bring it in! Mu Yi said with some joy.

It turned out that Zheng Zhilong ordered four frigates to dock the Spanish flagship without sails and invite the enemy commander. They should be careful of the guns on the enemy ship, because the sails of the ship have been knocked down, and the guns on the ship have not been destroyed.

However, when the four frigates surrounded them, the enemy ships did not open fire to resist, but poked their heads out of the side of the ship to greet them, and lowered the gangway. When the Yaogang sailors boarded the ship, they found that there was no work. After a gestural motion, the Count of Castile followed them down the gangway to the frigate, and then to the Tarzan in the frigate.

At this time, the Count of Castile looked up at such a large ship, and his heart had already scolded those who had been to the East. The heart said, you know that the Ming Dynasty has such a big ship, why don't you dissuade us from fighting them! Such a huge steel ship, not to mention that we are fighting with others, even if we stop here and let us bombard them with artillery, we will not be able to bombard them.

Coming to Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong's cabin, although he was defeated, the Count of Castile still held his chest high and tried to maintain the dignity of the so-called nobleman.

As soon as the Count of Castile came in, Zheng Zhilong asked in fluent Spanish, "You are the commander-in-chief of the Spanish fleet?" ”

"Yes, I am the Count of Castile, the commander of the combined fleet appointed by the King of Spain!"

"Your Excellency, please be seated!" Zheng Zhilong pointed to the chair and said.

"Thank you!" The Count of Castile sat down, took off his hat and laid it on the table.

"Tea for the Earl!" Zheng Zhilong commanded.

"You're welcome! I am your captive, at your disposal! Said the Count of Castile.

"What do you think of this naval battle, Lord Earl?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"We were defeated, there is nothing to say. Please don't humiliate me! The Count of Castile said very seriously.

"A commander who is afraid of death loses hundreds of warships without a little shame?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

"General, please respect the minimum dignity of a nobleman. We nobles are not afraid of death! ”

"According to my understanding, you have caused such a great loss to Spain, you should apologize with death! But you don't, you're afraid of death. Don't talk about dignity! Zheng Zhilong knew that he had to defeat the arrogance of this earl, otherwise the following words would not be able to be discussed.

Zheng Zhilong's words directly stabbed the Count of Castile in the sore spot, he lowered his head and said, "I must live to let our Majesty the King know how this naval battle was lost!" ”

"The Earl is trying to find a reason for himself to survive, right?" Zheng Zhilong is not polite.

Speaking of which, the Count of Castile didn't care anymore, straightened his chest and said, "So what? I've done my part for my country and now I don't care who says what! ”

The Count of Castile's reaction was really unexpected by Zheng Zhilong, but Zheng Zhilong reacted faster, "Lord Count, do you know what your loss this time is so huge for Spain?" ”

How could the Count of Castile not know that this time the naval warships were almost completely wiped out, and the formerly powerful Spain was like an open door in the Mediterranean, and if any country came to attack Spain, it would not be able to fight back at all. But now the Count of Castile could not bow his head, "General, don't rejoice too soon, we have only lost a battle." There is no such thing as a victorious army! ”

"Alright, don't waste any time!" Zheng Zhilong said, "You Spain are faced with two choices, one is to compensate us for our losses, and the other is that our warships will sail to Spain and flatten all the cities and docks and other infrastructure along your coast!" What do you choose? ”

The Count of Castile knew too well the power of the cannons and cannons of the warships of the Ming Dynasty, and knew that Zheng Zhilong could do what he said about flattening the facilities along the coast of Spain, but this matter was not something he could decide, "This, this kind of thing is not something I can decide!" ”

"I know it's not up to you to call the shots!" Zheng Zhilong said, "But I want to hear your opinion?" ”

"For the good of Spain, I will promise you some compensation." Said the Count of Castile.

"Oh well! We will send you a fast boat to take you to Spain, and you will have to meet your king as soon as possible to discuss this. "We're going to visit Marseille soon. Then I'll be waiting for you in Barcelona. But I hope you can give us a satisfactory answer. We didn't have much time to stay in Barcelona. ”

The Count of Castile understood that the Ming Dynasty would let him go back at the latest, and immediately promised: "When I go ashore, I will ride back to Madrid and report this to the king." Then rush back to Barcelona and wait for you! ”

"That's good! We're sure of it! After Zheng Zhilong finished speaking, he turned around and said, "Send the Earl down to rest first!" ”

After talking with the Count of Castile, Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi: "We are now moving in the direction of Marseille. Send a frigate on the way to send the Count of Castile ashore in Barcelona! ”

"I'm afraid that if we finish in Marseille, they won't be able to return to Barcelona!" Mu Yi said.

"Then there's no way, who let them have nothing to mess with us. We've got Barcelona to a draw! "Supposedly, the whole city of Barcelona is now bigger than their national capital, Madrid, and it is very wealthy!" ”

In the evening, the entire fleet of Yaogang headed for the port of Marseille in France.

Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong invited the Count of Castile to dinner together. The Count of Castile was not accustomed to the liquor that Mu Yi and the others had brought, and Zheng Zhilong told him that it was the best liquor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Count of Castile stubbornly said: "Our Spanish wine is the best wine in the world!" ”

Zheng Zhilong had no choice but to take out the wine he brought out from Portugal and give him to drink, "We don't have the best wine in the world as you said, this is Portuguese wine, you can make do with it!" ”

However, Mu Yi said: "As we said, the reason why men in your Mediterranean countries rarely get cardiovascular disease is that you drink wine every day. There is something called anthocyanins in this wine, which is very beneficial to people. ”

Zheng Zhilong also said: "I also learned from their Spaniards, and I am also willing to drink some wine." Otherwise, let them accompany us to order wine. We bring it back and let our people have less cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases! ”

Although he was a defeated general, the Count of Castile's mood of eating and drinking was not affected at all, "Yes! Are our people physically stronger than yours? ”

"Huh!" Zheng Zhilong said with a smile, "We prefer people with strong bodies to open mountains and build roads for us." There are many captives like you who work day and night in our South Seas! ”

The Count of Castile couldn't hold back a little after hearing this, "You shouldn't treat soldiers like this, it's uncivilized!" ”

"Come on! I have been doing things for you in the East, and I know what kind of virtue you are. You have done nothing less than human beings and slave traders. The captives weren't killed right away because they still had the strong bodies you mentioned, which was of some use. Or they should die ten times! Zheng Zhilong directly exposed the old background of these so-called civilized people.

At dawn, Zheng Zhilong arranged for a convoy to take the Count of Castile in the direction of Barcelona. The entire Yaogang fleet continued in the direction of Marseille.

Last night, they encountered some sailing ships on the road that had escaped with the wind, and they did not know whether they were Spaniards or French or Italians. Collision ship, Yaogang warship is already very experienced, and there is no need to hit the bow at all, just use the side of the ship in front of it to collide, and the wooden sailboat will squeak and fall apart.

Since the two Portuguese navigators were very familiar with the sea conditions in this area, the Yaogang fleet arrived off the port of Marseille before dawn the next night. When it was dawn, Zheng Zhilong asked a few prisoners from the French warship to be brought up and asked them about the situation in the port of Marseille.

Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi: "What the captives said is similar to what the Portuguese said. Let's give them a dismount first, and then talk to them! ”

There is a seven-hour time difference between here in France and the kiln. It's just six o'clock here, and it's already one o'clock in the afternoon on the kiln gang. After having some dinner with Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He in the command center, Zhang Zhimu looked at the time and sent a telegram to Mu Yi: "Never show mercy to the enemy!" ”

Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He didn't quite understand that Zhang Zhimu would send such a telegram, and they used to persuade the front-line soldiers not to kill people as much as possible, and to kill as few people as possible if they could. How did they know that at this time, Zhang Zhimu remembered the burning of the Old Summer Palace by the British and French forces, and the brutal violence they inflicted in Beijing. Now it's up to their ancestors to pay it back.