At this time, in the waters near the Ryukyus, naval battles were raging. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The Zheng family's fleet kept a distance from the Spaniards as far as possible, taking advantage of the range advantage of its own artillery, and constantly launched salvos at the Spaniards. And this scene immediately reminded Nelson of his grandfather and the series of naval battles he mentioned in 1588.

"The British ships were smaller than ours, but they were more agile and faster than ours. Their guns also have a longer range. They took advantage of this very well by firing at us at our extreme range. Of course, at such a distance, their hit rate is not very high. But it can still cause us considerable losses. Just being beaten and not being able to fight back is a big blow to morale. So while the ships of the British were all at our extreme range - well, child, you know, any projectile weapon, whether it be a musket, or a longbow, or a cannon, is the same, and they have a pitifully low hit rate at the ultimate range. But in order to maintain morale, we still opened fire on the British.

Unlike the British range-oriented artillery, the Spanish fleet's artillery placed more emphasis on lethal power, and our guns were heavier and more powerful, but they were inferior to the British in terms of firing speed and range. And because our boat is a bit slower, it's hard for us to close the distance. We frantically fired at the British, but barely a single shell hit them. And our warships are constantly being hit by their shells. Although their shells are not as powerful as ours, they can kill people. People kept getting shot and died, but we couldn't hit the enemy, and everyone was very frustrated.

The British pestered us in this way, and both sides kept firing until evening. The fleet of the British left, and after our counting, we found out that we were running out of shells and gunpowder. So we had to retreat and go to our port to resupply. The British harbor is very close, but ours is far away. At noon the next day, the British caught up with us, and then there was another artillery duel as the day before. However, we soon stopped the counterattack, because all the shells were used up.

The British also found out about this, and they got closer, so that the accuracy of their shelling became higher and higher, and we could only be beaten and had no chance to fight back. We had no choice but to retreat under their fire. Fortunately, our ships were large, and the power of the British's artillery was also very average, so although they kept firing their guns, it was not easy to sink a Spanish galleon by artillery fire. Eventually we returned to port, and in the process we lost a dozen boats, mostly small boats, and thousands of people killed. ”

Nelson felt that the situation he faced today was similar to the one his grandfather had depicted. His opponent, the Zheng family's fleet, was like the British fleet back then, with an advantage in speed and artillery range. Of course, in a sense, the situation he faced was more dangerous than the one in which his grandfather had fought. In his grandfather's time, the Spanish ships were significantly more numerous and sturdier than the British. And the British's cannons, although they had a longer range, were less powerful. And now, Nelson, who had just been shelled by that terrible giant ship on the Gluttony, knew that these Chinese cannons not only had a long range, but were also more powerful than the guns used in his fleet today. In the battle that his grandfather experienced, because the British attack was weak, the Spanish fleet could still rely on the thick skin and blood strips to retreat to their own ports. But now, in the face of such firepower as the Zheng family's fleet, Nelson feels that it will not be easy to be beaten like this and return to Manila safely.

But Nelson knew that the most important thing now was not to repeat the 1588 year when the Spanish Armada neglected to save shells in battle. If the Zheng fleet had been shelling at such a distance, although they would still have to be hit constantly, at such a distance, the shooting hit rate of the Zheng family's fleet would not be too high. In this way, his fleet still has the possibility of staying at night, and then relying on the cover of night, out of the battle. And if they had made the same mistake as the Armada in 1588 and had used up all the shells to make the Zheng fleet dare to approach and fire at will, Nelson felt that his fleet might be completely crushed in a very short time.

"Order, let all ships pay attention to saving gunpowder and shells. No ship is to return fire without my order. In addition, we ordered all ships to follow our ship for maneuvering. Babbel, you pay attention to the interval between each round of the enemy's cannons. Nelson ordered.

Several more shells flew over, one of which pierced a hole in the sails of the Fury.

……

"The enemy has turned, Major General, and most of our rounds of fire are about to fail again. This turn of the enemy army is really timely. Old Jack pointed to the Spanish warship in the distance and said, "It seems that he has an idea of the rhythm of our shelling." ”

"Yes, but it doesn't make much difference." Zheng Sen smiled, "Although we can't speed up the pace further, we can slow down the pace, after all, the metronome is in our hands." ”

Under Zheng Sen's control, the Zheng family's fleet constantly changed the rhythm of shooting, and the Spaniards' fleet also had ships shot from time to time.

……

"Colonel, it's not good to be beaten like this. I wonder if we can split the fleet into two parts, and let the faster warships approach first and hold off their fleet, and then the other warships will follow the ...... Captain of the Fury, Babel.

Nelson thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this won't work, Babbel, we have lost one cruiser now, and the number of remaining cruisers is insufficient, if we rush closer, our cruisers will be besieged by our opponents before other warships catch up." Babbel you have just noticed, how elite the opponent's gunners are - they fire almost twice as fast as ours - even in Europe you will be hard-pressed to find more elite gunners than them. In this way, in terms of firepower, in fact, we should multiply the number of enemy artillery by two. In such a situation, I don't think it's a good idea to let the cruiser take risks. However, you do have a point in saying that we can't continue to fight like this......"

Nelson fell into deep thought, and after a moment, he suddenly asked, "Do we have anything in our hands that can make smoke?" ”

……

Suddenly smoke rose from the Spanish warships, and the billowing smoke covered the entire fleet.

"Major General, we can't finish the ranging." Someone came to report to Zheng Sen.

In long-distance shelling, it is very important to ensure the accuracy of the range to ensure the hit rate. On the bow and stern of the Endeavour there is a rangefinder who will simultaneously read out the angle of a certain position of the enemy ship - usually the mainmast - relative to the Endeavour. Then, according to the measured angle and the distance between the measuring points, the trigonometric function was used to quickly calculate the distance between Endeavour and the target, and then according to this number, the "Endeavour" artillery bombardment was directed. Now the Spaniards have put up a smoke screen, which has greatly affected the ranging work.

"These Spaniards, but have they completely given up on counterattacking?" Zheng Sen shook his head and said.

"What do they fight back? Do you want to let their cruisers come over and risk alone? "I think they're quick to respond." ”

"You're right, but it's self-defeating." Zheng Sen smiled, "My father's fleet shouldn't be too far from here, and he can probably see such a big smoke." We've been forcing them to put off a smoke screen, and my dad will be there soon. By that time......"

"That's right." Old Jack nodded, "They probably don't know that General Zheng's fleet is nearby." The smoke screen would also block their view, so that General Zheng would have the opportunity to use the advantage of the number of ships and soldiers to engage them in a traditional broadside battle. ”

……

"Dashuai, look over there!" Shi Daxuan pointed to the sky over there and said, "This must be a fight between the major general and the Spaniards." ”

Zheng Zhilong put his hand on the pergola and looked over there, only to see a lot of black smoke rising over there.

"Maybe it's this bastard who got into a fight with others." Zheng Zhilong said, "Let's go over there." Well, Brother Da Xuan......"

"The last general, please give instructions to the marshal." In the First Battle of Xiamen a few years ago, Shi Daxuan lost all the ships that originally belonged to him, but after losing his own troops, he was more trusted by Zheng Zhilong.

"Brother Da Xuan, I want you to get on the 'Drifting Wind', rush over to see the situation first, and I'll come over with the team behind. If it's our advantage now, you can go and talk to Assen and see how we can work together. If it's Spain's advantage, you'll have someone come back and report it, and that bastard boy has a few fast communication ships there, and you'll take over his fleet, stuff him and Adu into the fast communication ships, and get them out of the fight. I'll leave this matter to you, Brother Xuan. ”

"The last general will certainly live up to his mission." Shi Daxuan replied with his hands clenched into fists. Then he turned to the side of the deck and asked the sailors to lower the dinghy so that he could transfer to the Drifting Wind.

Zheng Zhilong watched Shi Daxuan get into the dinghy, and then turned to the "Drifting Wind", and then the "Drifting Wind" began to accelerate away from the fleet, galloping away in the direction of the rising smoke, and then said to himself: "This kid doesn't know what to do anymore." ”