Chapter 135: Exploiting the Superiority of Ships and Artillery to Attack the Spanish Fleet

All the warships of the Yaogang fleet are centered on the 25,000-ton Taishan, lined up on the left and right. In addition to this flagship, there were three 1,800-ton ships, four 1,500-ton warships, and four 150-ton frigates. Two warships of 1,800 tons, on the left and right wings, and four frigates, directly on either side of the Tarzan. In the second row, there were one 25,000-ton cargo ship, two 5,000-ton ships (two 5,000-ton ones were left on the road), and six 1,500-ton ones. In order to make the horizontal battle line as wide as possible, the distance between the warships was appropriately increased.

However, in order to take advantage of the flexibility of the frigate, Zheng Zhilong allowed them to stand out when they fought.

Each warship in Yaogang was assigned the attack mission of enemy warships of more than 1,000 tons according to the area. These large ships are their first targets.

Due to the different sizes of sailing ships at sea, it was difficult for the Spanish fleet, warships to maintain a horizontal line.

The Count of Castile felt strange that he had lined up his fleet in a wide front because he had a very large number of warships, and he wanted to give full play to his numerical superiority, but the number of opponents' warships was obviously not much, so why did they also line up in a horizontal line, and the distance between the ships was still so far apart.

However, as the warships of the two sides approached, the Count of Castile's heart was a little worried, he saw that the warships of the Ming Dynasty were too big, they were like mountains, they were wooden ships, and how many cannonballs were needed to sink such a big one.

The Count of Castile ordered a dozen galleons of more than 1,000 tons to be flagged and concentrated their fire on the big ship in the middle. He knew that if he didn't sink this big ship, no matter how many ships they had, they would be defeated. This is a battle that has a bearing on whether Spain can again dominate the sea in the future, and the last defeat to the British has already disgraced Spain, and this time it must not be defeated.

Since the Yaogang fleet was facing the wind on its side and the Spaniards was on its side, Zheng Zhilong was ready to turn the warships sideways when the two fleets were 1,500 meters apart, so that he could use the cannons on the fore and fore decks to fire at the enemy ships, which was still far beyond the effective range of the enemy's artillery fire.

However, just as Zheng Zhilong was about to give the order, the radio detector successively found that the reflected waves of a large number of sailboats were found in the north and south of the fleet.

Zheng Zhilong and Mu Yi discussed, "Commander Mu, our opponents really still use the old methods to deal with us, and it seems that they are just this way." I don't think we need to worry about the things behind, we have scattered the enemies in front, and the back will naturally be easy to do! ”

"Hmmm! You can do it! Mu Yi agreed with Zheng Zhilong's opinion.

Zheng Zhilong said to the staff officers beside him: "Let's start!" ”

Except for the four frigates that rushed out directly, all the warships in Yaogang suddenly turned their rudders and turned sideways.

Although the Count of Castile had long learned from the intelligence brought back from the East that the cannons on the Ming Dynasty warships had a very long range and high accuracy, and often fired outside the range of the Spaniards' guns, he was ready to make up for this gap by using the rapid impact of the warships to quickly approach the enemy ships. But he didn't expect that when the two sides were so far away, the Ming Dynasty warships would come sideways. The Count of Castile was a little confused, he didn't know that this distance was already very close for the Kiln Gang warship, and the thought even flashed through his mind that his opponent did not understand naval warfare. But the thought was only a flash in his mind, and he knew that he would not be a fool to be able to lead the fleet to this place and easily defeat the Portuguese commander.

Before he could figure out what was going on, the kiln warships that couldn't wait for a long time opened fire one after another.

During this shelling, Zheng Zhilong ordered all 130 and 203 caliber cannons on all warships to open fire, and 304 caliber cannons were not allowed to fire. Zheng Zhilong knew that against wooden ships, the 304 caliber cannon was really a waste. Generally, a two-thousand-ton wooden ship, as long as it is directly hit by a 130-caliber cannon, one shell can solve the problem. 203 caliber shells can blow up wooden ships directly. With a 304 caliber cannon is simply too extravagant.

The Count of Castile saw a flash of light on the Ming Dynasty warship in the distance, and then the cannonballs whistled in, and the sound of cannons came. There were 36 130-caliber cannons on the Taishan, and each of the warships had two 230-caliber cannons, and six 130-caliber cannons each, adding up to more than 70 130-caliber cannons that could fire at the same time, and 14 203-caliber cannons.

After a round of shelling, the Count of Castile knew why the Kiln Gang warship was so far away and began to shoot.

He saw that there were six three-masted galleons of more than 1,000 tons that had been blown apart and were floating on the sea, and five more masts and sails had fallen into the sea, and the hulls had flipped on their sides, and the sailors on board had rolled into the sea, and two of them had fallen into the sea. Obviously, the opponent's first round of attacks hit too high, and the goal was very clear, which was to attack the big ships in the Spanish fleet. But the Count of Coloria's own big ship was the flagship, and the mark on the ship was obvious, so why was it not attacked?

How did he know that Zheng Zhilong ordered not to attack the flagship, because Zheng Zhilong was worried that the Spaniard fleet would scatter and flee after the flagship was defeated, which would be difficult to deal with. If the Count of Castile had known that his ship was not attacked, he would have committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

Even so, the Count of Castile saw such a round of shooting by the Ming Dynasty fleet and understood that his fleet had no hope of winning at all, but there was no hope to fight, and the only way was to rush over as soon as possible and get close to the enemy's warship, even if more warships were sunk, as long as they leaned up, maybe they would engage in melee fighting, and the enemy's artillery would not play a role, so as to have a glimmer of hope for victory.

Fortunately, the tactical literacy of the Spanish fleet was still good, and without the order of the flagship, all the ships rushed forward without hesitation, no matter how many warships were sunk in front.

The second round of shooting of the Yaogang fleet was more accurate, and after this round of shooting, more than a dozen large ships were smashed and sunk.

The Count of Castile was a little puzzled, how could the cannonballs of the Ming Dynasty be so powerful? The decks of those ships were made of the finest teak, but they looked like papier-mâché in front of the Ming cannonballs. In particular, the sound of the shell explosion was simply shocking, it was still the shell was far away from their own warship, if the shell fell on the ship, the warship was blown up at the same time, and the sailors on board could be shocked to death without being killed.

After a few rounds of firing from the Yaogang fleet, there were no more ships of more than 1,000 tons in the first few rows of the Spanish fleet, except for the flagship of the Count of Castile. Since the shots on these large ships were concentrated by several guns, they are now all piles of garbage floating on the sea.

Without a big ship, to deal with the remaining small boats of several hundred tons, Zheng Zhilong let the ships shoot freely.

Once again, the Mediterranean handed over luck to the Yaogang fleet, and after the fog cleared, the sun was shining, and the sea was very calm except for a little wind. In such sea conditions, the gunners on the Yaogang ship, who had not fired for a long time, played to their heart's content today. At a distance of about a thousand meters, in front of the gun scope, the enemy's beard on the enemy ship can be clearly seen, and the hit rate of the shells is also very high. If any of the shells missed, the sailors would immediately burst into laughter. The distance between the two fleets was less than 500 meters, and more than 100 Spanish warships, large and small, had already been sunk.

Seeing that it was within the effective distance of the Spanish warship's artillery fire, the Yaogang fleet suddenly turned its rudder backwards at the same time, and while walking backwards, it fired at the Spanish warship with the guns on the back deck.

The Count of Castile was a little confused, could it be that the cannonballs on the ships of the Ming Dynasty were gone? At this time, he hoped that the fleets of France and Italy could appear behind the Ming Dynasty fleets in time to block them.

However, after the Ming Dynasty fleet drove out for a while, it stopped again and turned the ship sideways. The Count of Castile slapped his head and almost crushed his teeth. They understood that the Ming Dynasty was attacking its own fleet from outside the range of its own shells.

The Count of Castile is simply going crazy, and the fleet of the Ming Dynasty in front of him is not comparable to his own fleet in terms of mobility or artillery power. Now the situation is very clear, the warships of his own fleet are the targets of the Ming Dynasty fleet. People can hit themselves, but they can't hit others. How can this battle be fought?

There was one more thing that made the Count of Castile feel very worried. That is, there were four small ships of the Ming Dynasty, which rushed into their array when the Spanish fleet was stunned. At this time, the cannon body continued to come out of the array, and there were also loud gunshots. And apparently the sound of artillery is not the sound of Spanish artillery.

In fact, the Count of Castile did not know that four small boats that they had not paid much attention to were making a lot of fun in their stomachs!

All four frigates are diesel-driven, very fast, and nimble. Despite their small size, each ship had four 65-mm flat-fire guns, and two six-barreled 12.7-mm heavy machine guns on the fore and aft decks.

After the four frigates rushed into the array of Spanish ships, they began to exert their might, and when they crossed the Spaniards to load the ships, they fired at close range below the waterline of the ships. Generally, after a shot on a warship, a large hole appeared below the waterline, and soon the water leaked and was finished. In particular, it would be even worse if it was swept away by a six-barreled heavy machine gun, and the wooden ship would be hit with hundreds of bullets in just a few moments, which meant hundreds of fist-sized holes. The wooden boat will soon fall apart. On larger ships, even if the heavy machine guns don't give them a hole in the waterline, a rain of bullets will pass, and the sail rigging on the ship will be beaten to pieces. As long as the sailors on the ship are on the side of the bullet, they will either die or be maimed.

The four frigates took advantage of their speed to shoot at their opponents when they didn't react. Unfortunately, the ammunition carried by the frigates was really limited, and they had to fight for a while, alternately covering the retreat of the Xianghui. Even so, each of their ships sank and damaged more than twenty Spanish ships. Such a result is not yet known to the Count of Castile. Because all this happened behind their warship.

The Count of Castile, who was stunned by the tactics of the Ming Dynasty, ordered to shoot at the Ming Dynasty fleet regardless of the shooting effect. The captains of the Spanish ships were also angry, what kind of war was this, they just stood up and let people fight, and they didn't even have a chance to fight back. Seeing that the Count of Castile gave the order, they all opened fire. They all know that this is to create some atmosphere and make the sea boil.

The warships in Yaogang did not care about the Spanish bombardment, and each artillery was competing to see who could fight the most ships.

The Count of Castile can now feel what it's like to be bullied. But at this time, he wouldn't think about how people would feel when they went to the door of someone's house with a cannon to bully others!

More than a hundred warships were sunk, and the Count of Castile couldn't stand it, he knew that if it went on like this, he couldn't help the Ming Dynasty fleet at all, and it was likely that his fleet would be wiped out here, and Spain would be finished. Without the fleet, without the Ming Dynasty, these surrounding wolves can divide Spain.

The helpless Count of Castile issued an order to retreat the fleet downwind.

Mu Yi saw the flagship of the Count of Castile, changed the flag, and asked Zheng Zhilong: "Old Zheng, what flag do you think they are hanging now?" ”

Zheng Zhilong, who had just rested, raised his binoculars and glanced at them, and said, "It's broken, the enemy is going to run away!" What a fucking bear bag. There are so many ships that I won't play! ”

Putting down the binoculars, Zheng Zhilong ordered: "Pay attention to the enemy to run, and inform the ships to prepare for pursuit!" ”

Mu Yi reminded Zheng Zhilong and said, "The enemy fleet behind is also coming up!" ”

"Leave them alone, those wooden boats want to beat us, they must have the ability to get close to us first!" Zheng Zhilong said confidently.

Mu Yi said: "Lao Zheng, it is best if the flagship is captured alive!" ”

"That's easy, let's get closer and use the machine gun to drop their sails!" After speaking, someone said to the staff officer, "You go up and inform the heavy machine gunner that you are only allowed to hit the sails of the Furlong man's flagship, and you are not allowed to hit the ship!" ”

The so-called defeated Spanish fleet was like a mountain, and although the retreating Spanish fleet was well-trained in peacetime, and the captains were experienced and veterans in handling ships, no one could care about the formation. The entire sea was scattered and fled by the Spanish fleet.

In fact, this made it impossible for the Yaogang warships to completely destroy them, and they could only follow and pursue them in all directions. It's easier to chase the enemy, it's just that you can only use the guns on the front deck. However, enemy ships within range can be spotted all around, and the guns on the rear deck can also be used!

Now it was the four frigates that were more effective, and they took advantage of their speed to catch up with a Spanish warship, and they didn't bother to fire their guns, and the six-barreled heavy machine guns poured bullets at them, and turned to chase the other ships. Because ordinary wooden ships were fired with hundreds of 12.7 heavy machine gun bullets, they couldn't move for a while.

When the Tarzan followed the Spanish flagship, and when it approached, the Count of Castile realized that his ship was too big. But now it's too late to change ships.

The giant ship of the Ming Dynasty that suddenly followed came up, "Whoa, whoa!" There was a cacophony of sounds, and the sails flew wildly, and then the mainsail fell. There was another "boom", after which the front and rear sails, along with the rigging, were reduced to splinters and fell.

The Count of Castile understood that the reason why the Ming Dynasty did not sink his ship and knocked the sails down was to capture him alive. The Count of Castile knew that the time had come to be loyal to His Majesty. But when the Count of Castile drew his sword and was about to kill himself, he thought that I had done my best for Spain, why should I die, and why should I not die with beautiful women in my arms and drinking wine at home. The Count of Castile, who put down his waist knife, was even more angry that so many guys around him who usually nodded their heads saw that they were going to kill themselves, but no one came to dissuade them, so that they didn't even have a chance to go downhill. Looking at the Spanish warships in the distance, which were constantly being blown up, the Count of Castile regretted a little and did not directly order surrender, which would still save many lives.

The boats on the sea were also chaotic during the pursuit. What made Mu Yi even more amused was that the cargo ships in Yaogang also joined the pursuit. There are 92 infantry guns on a large cargo ship, and when they are not in use, they are fixed under the side of the ship so as not to affect the loading. There are also large ships with 12.7mm heavy machine guns on the sides of the ship. These heavy machine guns have a long range and are a great threat to wooden ships. They fired at the Spanish wooden boats from a distance, many of which were hit by dozens of 12.7mm bullets, and they were finished. Because dozens of fist-sized holes don't need to be plugged. You have to abandon the ship directly.

The French fleet and the Italian fleet, which followed behind, came to Fangcai's battlefield, and saw a lot of piles of warship garbage floating there, as well as the rumbling cannons they had heard just now, and knew that a fierce naval battle had just been fought here. But they also saw that the sea seemed to be full of Spanish warships.

The constant sound of artillery in the distance showed that the battle over there was not over yet, and the chase was still going on. After a brief communication between the French fleet and the Italian fleet commander, it was decided to lead the team to chase the wind where the cannon sounded.

The radio detector on the Tarzan first spotted a number of sailboats behind it, and soon the lookout on the lookout saw many sailboats chasing after them through the observation system.

Originally, Zheng Zhilong wanted to capture the Spanish flagship alive first, but when he heard the fleet coming from behind, he said to Mu Yi: "The flagship in front of Commander Mu has no sails, and it can't go anywhere." We've cleaned up the enemy behind us and come back to pack up the ship, right? ”

"Hmmm! It's fat in the back! Mu Yi agreed.

Zheng Zhilong immediately personally informed the ships by radio: "Captains, pay attention, after hearing the order, give up the pursuit of the Spanish warship." We still have big fish behind us. Please lean in on me now. According to our radio beacons, the position of our ship Tarzan was determined. Assemble quickly! ”