"Is that the Shoreman fleet that Mr. Chris mentioned, James?" On the sea, an English warship flying the St. George flag cruises, and her officer is carefully observing his prey through binoculars.

"Yes, Mr. Walter." James lowered his binoculars and affirmed unequivocally, "It's the fleet I saw in Cape Verde." Their destination seems to be Bordeaux, which is less than a few days away, and if we don't take any action, they will most likely get there. ”

"It's hard for Mr. Chris to report the East Coast in time." Walter smiled confidently, "I'll leave it to us." Evan, lower the St. George flag. Then you go and tell the whole fleet to get ready, gain the upper hand, and take turns shelling, with all the ships concentrated on the target of the 'Sir Daley'. Also, close the distance to within 300 meters before firing. ”

With his order, the liaison officers began to take the other four warships in the transport boat to deliver the order. Soon, a total of five British warships on the sea adjusted their course and moved slowly in a column formation along the westerly wind blowing on the sea.

The frigate "Sea Writer", which was at the forefront, was the first to discover the enemy. Soon, the lookout posts on the battleships of the "Common Market" also discovered the situation, and the warning bell was suddenly sounded.

Wang Tiezhu jumped to the edge of the bridge with an arrow step, raised his binoculars and looked: Good fellow, five three-masted galleons lined up on the sea, and pressed towards this side in a column formation.

"Rub, it's definitely British! These Brits are so persistent! Wang Tiehammer slapped the railing of the fence hatefully and scolded: "Isn't there a commercial competition with you?" As for chasing and killing like this?! You ships don't cost you guys. Damn it. All of them are crazy! Your king didn't stand up for you, and it's inexplicable that you yourself are so active! ”

An Shu and the others looked at the front with solemn faces. The British had five warships, the tonnage was not large, generally 400-600 tons, but a lot of artillery was placed, and it can be seen that these ships were purely out to find fault.

"Don't be stunned, hang the battle flag!" Wang Tiehammer yelled at the first mate, second mate, boatswain and others around him, "Second mate. You take the liaison officer to the ships to liaise. The transport ship of the South China Sea Company slowed down and stopped, and the other two warships all came up to me to keep up, the same column formation, Nima, if the British want to fight, then fight! Also, let Julian's 'Nightingale' take care of it, and if he wants to run for his life, run for his life, but I don't guarantee that the British will let him go! ”

With each side in battle formation on the sea, a naval battle seemed inevitable. The British had the upper hand, and their five battleships lined up in a column. Killed unhurriedly from the northwest.

At this point, Wang Tiehammer didn't have too many ideas. Today, it seems that it is difficult to distinguish the winner here. At this time, he became excited, and a sickly flush welled up on his face.

At this time, the second escort detachment had also completed the formation adjustment. The whole fleet was divided into two columns, with two South Sea Company transport ships (each with 8 guns) with poor firepower on the left side; The battleships led by the "Common Market" were on the right; Two columns moved from southeast to northwest along the ocean current at a low speed of 1 to 1.5 knots.

Julian's "Nightingale" did not dare to escape after all, because he was not sure if the British would kill him easily, anyway, as long as his hands and feet were neat and there was no proof of death, then his family would have no way to take others. Therefore, his armed merchant ship, armed with 16 small and medium-caliber guns, also followed the sequence of combat ships on the right, ready to meet the challenge of the British.

"Boom! Rumble! The two 12-pounder bow guns of the "Common Market," which rushed to the forefront, fully exploited the advantage of the long range of the guns on the east coast, and began firing after entering a distance of 800 meters. It's a pity that the two shells seem to have gone down the drain.

Undeterred, the gunners continued to fire. Finally, in the fourth round of shelling, a 12-pound iron bullet hit the opponent's bow tower, making the first hit of the day.

The distance between the two sides continued to close, and the accuracy of the bow guns began to rise, and 12-pounder shells hit the enemy hull one after another, but unfortunately they did not achieve much success. At the side guns, the commanders of each gun are estimating the relative speed and distance of the two sides, and at the same time directing their own crew members to adjust the direction of the muzzle with a pulley group, so that they can join the battle as soon as possible.

"Boom! Rumble! "The distance between the two ships was reduced to about three hundred meters, and the side guns of both sides fired a salvo almost at the same time.

A total of 32 guns on the upper and lower decks of the starboard side of the "Common Market" opened fire at the same time, and the "Sir Daley" of the opposing side did not show weakness, and also returned the color with a salvo of 18 guns on the starboard side. Thick gunpowder smoke suddenly filled the sea, and visibility was reduced to a minimum for a moment.

"Whew!" An eight-pound iron bullet pierced the bulkhead of the third-story bridge of the stern of the "Common Market" at close range, and then hit his head on the table, only to run out of kinetic energy and roll down. Wang Tiezhu's face was as red as blood at this time, and he looked quite frightening, and he saw him standing at the door of the bridge, sending out four or five liaison officers around him at a low price, and directing the guns on the deck to fire.

"A 1 to A 4 gun position, hit the opponent's stern bridge!" "I'm grass, who let you shoot a salvo, do you understand how to fire one by one!" "B1 gun position, I grass your ancestors, don't you know how to change grapes at this time?!" "A 5 to A 8 gun positions, change chain shells, hit the opponent's sail and mast! Fast! "Damn, the British are so fierce this cannon, Lao Tzu's captain's room is completely destroyed!"

The two ships quickly staggered past, and the gunners on both decks adjusted their muzzles and aimed at the second enemy ship that met them. In the exchange of fire just a few minutes, almost all the shells fired by both sides landed on the hull of the other side, and the battle was short and fierce.

Walter looked at his battered hull with a grim face, he expected the strength of the East Coaster's artillery, but he didn't expect the opponent's artillery to be so powerful in close combat! Damn, so many 32-pound, 24-pound long-barreled cannons! These heavy naval guns knocked their stern, bow, and deck beyond recognition at a distance of 300 meters, and almost every gun was able to make a hole in its oak hull except for the waterline.

The two 24-pounder cast-iron cannons on his ship, which were proud of their weight, fired only a few shells in a hurry, slightly shattering several of the opponent's broadside decks. The hull of the other party seems to be made of sturdy, dense Brazilian mahogany, and it seems to be more resistant to attacks than its own oak hull.

After the staggering, both sides did not have time to check the losses, and immediately aimed their guns at the second ship in the enemy column, and then opened fire!

The smoke of gunpowder on the sea surface became more and more intense, and it lingered for a long time under the sea breeze, obscuring the common vision of the lookouts of both sides. At this time, any art of command, intrigue, or anything was ineffective, and the two sides were like medieval knights, waving long swords at each other, I slashed you, you stabbed me, and the competition was all about cannon barrels and tortoise shells.

Whoever has more cannons, thick barrels, fast hits, and strong resistance to blows will be more able to survive.

Wang Tiehammer stood by the bridge fence, staring at the British ships on the other side of the gunsmoke, and the captain in the bowler hat on the other side seemed to be standing on the edge of the bridge, pointing in this direction.

"Boom! Rumble! "The 32-pounder guns from the A1 to A4 gun positions were fired one after another, and four solid iron balls hit the opponent's waterline deck again. But the British's warships did seem to have spared no expense, and the planks at the waterline were so thick that they could withstand the close-range bombardment of 32-pound long-barreled guns. Compared to one of them, the pirate ship is completely scum!

The gunners stuffed grapeballs wrapped in nets into the barrels of the 18-pounder and 12-pounder guns, and the small lead balls that looked like grape grains whizzed toward the opposing stern and amidship decks. There was an exclamation on the British ship, and through the smoke of gunpowder, Wang Tiehammer vaguely saw that the bridge of the other side seemed to have been shot, and it looked like there were officers on the other side who were killed or wounded.

"Who hit it? Well played! Lao Tzu gave him credit! Wang Tiehammer slapped his thigh excitedly, and Da Lu smiled: "Little soldier is a non-commissioned officer!" Non-commissioned officers are promoted to alternate officers! The alternate officer is immediately regularized! Liaison, write it down for me. Liaison...... Where's the liaison, the fuck is all gone! Ahh......h

"Whew! Call! Several grape bullets also hit the second floor of the stern, and a piece of broken wood hit Wang Tiezhu's forehead, causing him to bleed profusely.

Ansu rushed down from the top gun deck almost in a hurry, and then carried the king iron hammer to the first deck with the ship's doctor who also rushed over. That position on the bridge is so dangerous, it's almost a cannonball magnet! An was sure that if Wang Tiehammer stood there again, the chance of being injured or killed in battle would be more than fifty percent.

"Nima, let Lao Tzu pass." Wang Tiehammer's eyes were covered with blood, and he pulled the bandage to wipe it as he shouted, "The officer must stand there and command, so that all the brethren can see that you are still there!" Let me pass, I don't want to be looked down upon! ”

Perhaps it was because of the excessive blood loss, Wang Tie Hammer roared twice and then stopped, and then leaned weakly on the deck, allowing the ship's doctor to clean his wounds, disinfect, stop the bleeding, and bandage him.

"Xiao An, go over, go to the bridge to command!" Wang Tiehammer opened his eyes, grabbed An's sleeve and said.

Anji pursed his lips, trying to say something but not saying it.

"Are you scared?" Wang Tiehammer looked straight at the place.

An Zhi watched the white cotton bandage on Wang Tiehammer's forehead instantly stained red with blood, and after a long time, his head suddenly became hot, turned around and climbed a few steps to the bridge fence on the second floor, grabbed a few liaison officers and began to transmit orders to all parts of the ship, and officially took over the command. (To be continued......)