In the afternoon, the weather was clear, the sea surface wind was 15 knots, the wind was northeast and east, and the visibility was good.

"Signal flags, enemy ships are in sight." Chen Shouxu stood on the foredeck of the Changshui, "Captain, record the logbook." At 3 p.m. on November 25, 1639, at 74 degrees 14 minutes west longitude and 24 degrees 58 minutes north latitude, our fleet and Chiron's fleet were visually confirmed. The enemy ship was located at a compass point east-south, 7 nautical miles. ”

Rhaegar immediately took out his notebook and began shorthanding.

A black column of smoke floated over Blue Harbor, and Collingwood pulled open his binoculars, "The battery has stopped fighting. ”

Chen Shouxu sighed, "We've been on our way from Hispaniola Island, and we didn't think it might be too late." ”

Collingwood looked up at the sky, "Our fleet is moving at four knots, and it will come into contact with the enemy in about an hour and a half. We had two hours before dark. ”

Chen Shouxu said, "If the wind speed allows, hang the signal flag again, and notify all warships to raise as many sails as possible." ”

The Changshui raised the No. 30 due south compass flag and informed the whole fleet to turn the rudder in the direction indicated by the flagship.

Collingwood asked, "Commander, what's your battle plan?" ”

"It will take time for Chiron's fleet to complete the U-turn and sail out of the channel, and let's assume that he touches one hour after leaving the channel, then they will probably be in the sea 2 nautical miles outside the harbor. Because of the reef barrier, the current wind downwards Chiron has two options: west and northwest. “

Collingwood said, "Shouldn't we form a horizontal formation to engage the enemy?" In this way, no matter what course Chiron chooses, we can immediately form a battle line. ”

Chen Shouxu shook his head, "There is a gap in the sailing performance of the three warships in the fleet, if we sail too long with a horizontal formation, the distance between each other will increase. Our individual ships may not be the match of the Spaniards, either in terms of ship handling or gunnery, so we must always use columns and maintain a dense formation. ”

Collingwood smiled, "Chiron's fleet has been attritional, and we are a cutting-edge warship, if I were him, I would try to retreat west." ”

"I don't want him to go west, and he may withdraw to Cuba." So I'm going to sail due south at full speed, block Chiron's return route, and destroy him here. ”

Chiron's fleet struggled to make a U-turn, with the rear team becoming the front team, and Azonia's Arogonoda became the lead ship.

The Estellae at the back of the palace sailed out of the channel, and Chiron on the stern deck looked at the pirate fleet that suddenly appeared, and his face was very ugly, "Chatfield, you never told me that the pirates of the Bahamas still have 3 cruisers. ”

With the victory of the Spaniards at Blue Harbor, Chatfield's position on the ship improved. He pulled back his binoculars, "Commander, I swear, the Bahamian pirates certainly don't have cruisers. Otherwise, how could they have appeared now. You see, the pirate's ship No. 2 was the one who slipped through the net in the battle of Puerto Sama, the French captain Marmont. ”

"I can recognize this flag, he is an ally of the dead William. Who did the other two warships with the same flag belong to? ”

Chatfield's tone was a little odd, "Commander, there's another flag that has never been seen in the Bahamian Pirates, but I think I know who it is." ”

"You say."

"Commander, when I was first on the Banshee, there was a Chinese on board. Grover always thought he might help us find a northern route to the Pacific, so it was good for him. ”

Chiron scoffed, "We in Spain have explored the entire Pacific coast of the Americas, where there is a northern route. “

"The Northern Route is just wishful thinking on the part of the British company Virginia." "After I left the Banshee, I got the news that the Chinese captain had been separated from Grover and was acting alone off the coast of South America, and his record seemed to be good. “

"Peruvian vice-king, these pirates deserve to die." Chilong thought for a moment, "When you say that, I have some impression of this Chinese captain. But where did his cruisers come from? ”

The appearance of Chen Shouxu meant that the Spaniards had made a major mistake in assessing the strength of the pirates. Chatfield, who provided the information, has an inescapable responsibility.

Chatfield looked up at Chiron cautiously, and he was about to quickly shake the pot, "I heard that he has been operating in the Dutch-controlled area before, and this ship should have been given to him by the Dutch." ”

"Dutch." Chiron snorted heavily, these ubiquitous conspirators, "What if the Dutch give him two cruisers, can the pirates still fight a fleet battle with me?" ”

"The commander is so right, no matter how you fight, even twice as many cruisers as pirates will never be your opponent."

"I've never seen any formation discipline from a pirate." Chiron's tone was still very arrogant, "Let me teach this Chinese what fleet warfare is." Ordered the fleet to go westward downwind. ”

Chatfield felt that Chiron was too optimistic, and he tactfully reminded, "Commander, after most of the bloody battle, our fleet has suffered many casualties, and the physical strength and energy of the soldiers have also been consumed. And our artillery and sail lines were also damaged......"

"It doesn't matter if the sail ropes are all medium and long distance artillery battles, and the pirates use solid bullets, nothing more than a few broken ropes and a few holes in the canvas. Order the ships, speed up repairs, redistribute artillery and manpower. I believe in my soldiers. ”

Chatfield saw that Chiron was resolute and didn't dare to say more.

On the Changshui, Chen Shouxu saw that the Spanish fleet was really sailing west at full speed, and his response to this was to hoist the signal flag and "correct 1 compass point to starboard." ”

Then the Changshui hoisted the No. 13 signal flag to the whole army, "Prepare for battle." ”

The sailors who received the order put away the canvas hammocks, wrapped them in a roll, tied them tightly with ropes, and loaded them into the iron racks placed on the open deck. The iron frame with the compacted hammock was then moved behind the bulwark, creating a breast wall. Spread sand on the deck and moisten it with seawater, in addition to being fireproof and non-slip, the sand can also absorb blood. The curtains of the ammunition depot were all wet to prevent the gunpowder from being detonated by the flying sparks.

Chen Shouxu actually misunderstood Kailong. He did not know that Chiron still had more than 200 infantry on the island of Eleuthera, and that it was impossible for the Spaniards to leave these infantry behind. Moreover, Chiron boasted that he had 4 warships, after all, he had a numerical advantage, and he sailed west not to escape, but to bring Chen Shouxu's course to the west as much as possible, so as to gain more room for maneuver for his fleet.

According to the current route, after the two sides contacted, Chen Shouxuan would probably be able to concentrate three cruisers and attack Chiron's rearguard with superior firepower, but he might not be able to clean up Chiron's forward fleet for the rest of the day. This is also the idea of Chen Shouxu, which Chiron guessed, to pounce on the rear ship of Chiron fleet, which is his flagship, with all the warships.

Chiron stood on the deck of the Estleia and sneered, "Give a signal to the whole army, and all the warships will turn with the wind at the same time." ”

Chen Shouxu stood on the stern, and when he saw that Chiron's fleet suddenly turned sharply to the port side, he excitedly knocked on the bulwark fence, "Chilong chose to fight!" ”

Collingwood said, "Chiron was very well timed to turn and he was turning now to make our formation go too hard. ”

"It's okay, as long as he chooses to fight."

Collingwood carefully observed the Spanish fleet and wondered, "Why is their formation a little chaotic?" The Spanish Navy rarely had a disorganized queue. ”

Chiron is a fleet maneuver performed in accordance with naval discipline, when the fleet forms a battle formation or other formation and is at a disadvantage, and the enemy fleet pounces on the rear guard of its own fleet - ordering all ships to turn downwind at the same time. The loss of the sail line of the Spanish warships in the battle was different, and Chiron used the method of turning around at the same time, and there was inevitably a speed difference between the ships.

Chen Shouxu immediately responded, "Order the whole army to follow the flagship to turn left in turn, forming an oblique array with the port side facing the wind." "This is a semaphore banner phrase, which is an array of 7 compass points in the wind. This is the classic formation before the headwind turns to the battle line.

Rhaegar said downward, "Yes. Full rudder on the port side. ”

During the battle, the fleets turned in turn, and the relative movement of the warships inevitably widened the distance between the front and rear, which was not conducive to concentrated fire, but it was relatively easy to execute. Turning around and maneuvering together at the same time, and maintaining a tight battle formation, is something that only the best fleets can do.

Chiron smiled, "The port side is close to the wind, and he really wants to take advantage of me in fleet battles." “

The Spanish fleet signaled to the whole army, "Change sides to the wind and sail upwind according to the compass bearing given by the flagship." ”

After making a U-turn, the Estellea made a sharp left turn and switched to starboard near the wind. Thus the Spanish fleet sailed from the starboard side of the channel to port near windward and then to starboard near windward.

With two large maneuvers in a row, the Spanish fleet was no longer formed, not so much a fleet as a group of ships. But Chiron ignored the chaotic queue, confident that his captains would soon be able to adjust course and catch up with the flagship.

Chen Shouxu watched the change of the Spanish fleet's queue in surprise, he didn't expect the Spanish fleet to turn prematurely after turning around, regardless of the confusion of the queue.

Chen Shouxu's fleet turned left and headed southeast, if it continued to maintain its current position, Kailong's fleet would definitely be able to occupy Chen Shouxu's port upwind position first, and then it could fight and go, completely restoring its mobility, on the contrary, compressing the maneuvering space of Chen Shouxu's fleet.

Collingwood reacted, "Chiron is believing in his battleship's ability to adjust formations. ”

After the Spanish fleet turned around, the Arogonoda at the end of the fleet actually sent flags to the battleships in the designated position and adjusted the queue on its own, and the Spanish warships had a tendency to recover.

A trace of remorse crept into Chen Shouxu's heart, and he chose to turn to port in order to further compress Chiron's space and force the enemy ships to enter the battle line as soon as possible. This gave more time to inflict more damage on the Spaniards before dark.

The calculation is too detailed, and leaving no room for passivity of the fleet. Chen Shouxuan had to admit that Chiron's command of fleet movement was stronger than him, and the formation discipline of the Spanish fleet was beyond his imagination.

"The formations of the Spanish Navy are really powerful. If we and Chiron were commanding a large fleet of more than a dozen warships, we would have been very passive now. Collingwood's tone was tinged with admiration.

Chen Shouxu quickly calmed down, "Order the Raphael, the Changhe, to change sides against the wind." ”

Collingwood was a little surprised, "Captain, our queue isn't neat either. Change the side now, and the formation will be chaotic. ”

"There's no time to wait for the queue to adjust, we have to post it as soon as possible." Chen Shouxu said resolutely, "Tell the Changhe and Raphael that after the change, we will hang up the full sails and sail against the wind." ”

Rhaegar asked in surprise, "6 compass points for the wind?" Leaving no room at all? ”

As is customary, ships sail in battle with a battle sail with some of the sails tightened. Collingwood thought for a moment, "You don't need a combat sail, sail with a full sail against the wind, you want to cut the Spanish fleet battle column diagonally?" ”

"Chiron had the upper hand on the east side after turning early, and now that we were too far away from each other to hold him down from the north. The time left before dark in the downwind was not enough to allow us to achieve a decisive result in a normal line engagement. Chen Shouxu looked around at his officer, "At full speed, I will take the lead through the enemy ship array." ”

Then, Chen Shouxu loudly ordered the two fire controllers, "All cannons add skids." ”

The gun crew used a lever to the tail of the gun, stuffed it into a triangular skid, and lowered the muzzle.

After reading it, Chen Shouxu continued to order, "The muzzle of the gun is not low enough, add more." ”

Elliot and Gardner made eye contact with each other, allowing the gun crew to add another skid.

Chiron looked at the approaching pirate fleet and sneered, "Chatfield, the chart you drew shows that we have a shoal area on the port side, right?" ”

Chatfield smiled, "Yes, the cruiser will definitely hit the rocks when it comes in." ”

"Hang the signal flag. Battle sails, we form a battle line against the wind! Chiron couldn't help but laugh out loud, "A pirate is a pirate." Having such a maneuvering advantage in the upwind position, I only know how to pounce downwind on my flagship. It only took me two maneuvers to turn the tide around. Now if they switch to parallel broadside artillery with us, we will force them into the reef zone. If they don't turn to the broadside engagement, we will be able to overtake the reef and in turn gain the upper hand over him. ”

Chatfield bent slightly, "Allow me to congratulate the Commander in advance on our victory. ”

A warship bird flies over the island of Eleutella, and with his wingspan of up to 2 meters, two fleets of sails are approaching each other. At this time, the battlefield situation has become very clear, in order to press Chen Shouxu's fleet to the left, Chiron has 2 more compass points than the general starboard windward oblique array, and Chen Shouxu's fleet is completely sailing against the wind, and the tracks of the two fleets are at an angle of 3 compass points.

The Long Water turned the angle of the boom to the maximum, tightened the foreline of the bottom sail, and tightened all the sail surfaces like a flat plate, unlike when the sail was downwind, when the sail was swollen into an arc. The pirate fleet was no longer a column, with the flagship Changshui leading the way to the north of the fleet, and the Changshui and Raphael behind the starboard side of the flagship.

Chiron smiled when he saw the three enemy ships rushing diagonally towards his fleet, "They're still going to engage us on the broadside, Chatfield, are you sure where the reef is located?" ”

Chatfield hurriedly said, "I'm sure." Even if the Chinese captain of the pirate fleet did not know, it was impossible for Marmont not to know. ”

"Pirates do not form formations, and according to the code, when they have formed an oblique formation, they should remain in opposite positions to each other, regardless of when the ships are ordered to turn together." Chiron then ordered the fire controller, "Now if you want to enter a broadside engagement, the enemy lead ship must lower its sails and slow down, switch from diagonal queues to battle lines, and have the various gun crews ready to fire a salvo as they slow down and turn." ”

The pirate's lead ship came into the effective range of the ship's guns, but did not slow down. The Spanish gunners looked at the fire controller, and the fire controller looked at Chiron.

The Long Water fine-tuned its course and headed for the center of the Estellea and the second ship, the Sant'Idefontso.

Seeing the large circle of the Changshui's shadow rushing towards his array, Chiron suddenly came to his senses and shouted, "Open the cannon, fire the cannon quickly." ”

Since Chen Shouxuan did not wait for the fleet to adjust and change sides, the two sides came into contact a little earlier than Chiron had planned, and the formation of the Spanish fleet did not return to closeness. The Sant-Idfonso was in full swing, and the Estellea had only the aft side of the ship with range.

Sailing against the wind, the Changshui was very slow. The short 500-meter range was a full 20-minute voyage. The Spanish battleships fired six volleys explosively.

The Long Water did not return fire, and the thick oak planks blocked most of the shells that hit the hull. However, the open deck was in shambles, and solid bullets collided back and forth on the deck, destroying several deck guns. The pirates dragged down the bodies of their comrades, and in the middle of the battle, they did not have time to bury them at sea, and threw them directly into the sea.

Standing firmly on the deck, with his sailors, Chen Shouxu looked at Chiron and said softly, "I'm going to enter the battle line to fight, but I'm going to pass through your ship column and form a battle line in the upper hand." ”

Behind the Changshui, the Raphael and the Changhe maintained a tight formation. Due to Azonia's initiative adjustment, the rearguard of the Spanish fleet sailed before the Montagnes, and the formation was relatively close. The Long River and the Raphael were subjected to a salvo of the entire guns of both ships, and they also fired a salvo at the Arogonoda as they passed through the Spanish ranks. It was hellish melee combat with heavy losses on both sides.

The Changshui still did not return fire, and half of the sailors on the open deck had already suffered casualties.

Collingwood's face turned pale, it was a crazy assault. He looked at Chen Shouxu's eyes as if he was not in this world, and for a moment he thought that Chen Shouxu was really crazy.

The Changshui slowly passed through the Spanish columns, and Chen Shouxu gently spit out the order, "Turn left, parallel to the enemy ship." ”

Standing beside the captain, Rhaega was waiting for Chen Shouxu's order with all his heart, and he heard it very clearly, and he conveyed loudly downward, "3 compass points on the left rudder!" ”

The Changshui made a left turn, and the Changshui, which was maintaining the same course, hung up the full sail, and the Esterella only hoisted the battle sail. In Chiron's eyes, the sea breeze pushed the Long Water to a parallel position on the Estellea, as if in slow motion on replay.

Most of the shells that hit the Changshui came from the Santa Idfonso, and most of the losses of the Changshui were on the starboard side. Now Chen Shouxu aimed the port side naval guns, which were basically intact, at the Spaniards.

Chiron's mouth was slightly open, and the two battleships slowly approached to the distance of only a pistol. On the stern of the Changshui, Chen Shouxu's indifferent eyes made him feel a chill from the bottom of his heart.

The sea breeze gently brushed the hull of the Long Water, pressing the muzzle of the 24-pounder cannon against the waterline of the Estelleya.

"Open fire." The Long Water began a salvo from the bow.

In the upwind close-upstair, the first salvo of the Long Water smashed Estellea's starboard side, and the waterline was also broken down.

Gardner, the fire controller on the lower gun deck, immediately ordered, "Free fire!" ”

The distance of the pistol, there is no need to aim, all the pirates have to do is to empty the magazine as quickly as possible.

After six rounds of firing, the smoke cleared, and Elliot and Gardner watched in amazement as their masterpiece, the starboard side of the Estellea had been shattered. The guns on this side of the enemy ship were swept away, the broken gun carriages pressed against the soldiers' bodies, and the unrestrained barrels rolled back and forth on the deck. The Estellea was completely incapacitated.

"The open-air deck guns change chain shells. Go on, don't stop. ”

Five more rounds were played.

Chiron was run over by a cannonball, the smoke cleared, and the stern of the Estellea was empty, the masts had collapsed and the rigging was in disarray.

Elliot looked at Chen Shouxu's figure in fear, "Captain, there are almost no more people on that ship. Is it possible to change the next target ......?"

Chen Shouxu, who was looking for Chiron everywhere, came back to his senses and nodded, "Next, the enemy No. 2 ship ......."

24-pounder cannon reloaded.

The Sant-Idfonso, now the lead ship of the Spanish fleet, suddenly made a sharp left turn and broke out of the queue. Running to the reef in front of everyone is gone.

Looking at the Santa Idfonso that had escaped, Azonia gritted his teeth, "Raise the command flag, I will take over the command." ”

Chen Shouxu didn't want to slow down the sails, so the Changshui turned slightly upwind and took advantage of the headwind to reduce the speed of the voyage.

The Arogonoda was also covered in bruises from the artillery battle with the Long River and Raphael, and Azonia wiped the blood from her forehead and said to her soldiers, "Warriors of Spain." Now, it's our turn to raise the blood flag. Long live the King! ”

Raphael was at the forefront of the rear-end engagement, withstanding most of the fire from the Arogonoda and Montañez, and the boom was badly damaged, and it had stalled and fallen behind.

2 against 2, the Changshui approached the enemy ship and swept away the remaining firepower of the Arogonoda with several salvos.

"Broadside."

The pirates used grappling hooks to bring the two ships together, and the Long Water had a larger tonnage and higher bulwarks. Boom guns and sailors' arquebuses swept down the deck, and the boarding party descended to the deck of the Arogonoda with a variety of weapons.

In the midst of the ruins, Azonia stood up covered in blood.

The pirates did not shoot.

Chen Shouxu took off his captain's hat and greeted Azonia slightly.

Azonia laughed, and the flintlock pistol was pressed against his temple, "Long live the king!" ”

At this time, the last Spanish battleship, the Montañez, raised the white flag.

The Tempest sailed to the broadside, Roberts boarded the blood-drenched deck of the Long Water, "The Spaniard's dhow ran away." ”

In fleet warfare, a sloop like the Tempest was completely useless. Chen Shouxu sent Roberts out early to play with his friends in the Chiron fleet.

"It's okay to run, it's okay to run. Let him bring today's news to Havana. ”

The afterglow of the setting sun cast on the sea, and the clouds and the sea glowed red. The wreckage of the battleship was burning, and the corpses of the soldiers were floating and sinking with the waves.

(Caribbean Sea Volume)