August 22, 1646, July 11, 1646.

At 21 degrees 35 minutes north latitude, outside the Pearl River estuary, the wind is clear and strong, heading to 1 compass point north-northeast, and the wind is south-southwest. 8 nautical miles to the southeast.

Log books are recorded and visually confirmed with enemy ships.

The white sails of the ships are depicted with the Grand Cross of Burgundy, and the enemy ships prominently declare their identity to the outside world. The Habsburg double-headed eagle and the Spanish flag are waving in the wind at the top of the mast. On the foremast, hanging under the banner of the battleship Captain Ryu is the commander of the Manila fleet, Sebastian A. Lopez's flag.

Captain Harris, the first captain of the flagship, lowered his binoculars, "4 big galen, 3 speedboats, half of the Manila garrison fleet is here." ”

Gardner, the second captain, frowned slightly, "What are the Dutch doing, how can a Spanish fleet appear at the mouth of the Pearl River?" ”

Shou Xuan sighed, "It seems that the Dutch have been defeated again. ”

Since the occupation of Keelung, for about three years, only a few schooners have undertaken communications and strategic material transportation between Taipei and the mainland, and the amount is very small. The reason is that in addition to the fact that Taipei has just been developed, the production is indeed limited. On the other hand, the Spanish fleet was afraid of Manila.

From the end of last year to the present, there have been several large fleet transports between Taipei and the mainland, and the strength of the warships escorting the escort is very weak. But the Spaniards at that time did not have time to take care of the Confederation's junk fleet.

At the end of 1645, Batavia sent a fleet to blockade Manila, capture Chinese sailing ships that were trading in Manila, and cut off the chain of galleon trade. In early 1646, the Dutch, strengthened by reinforcements, launched an invasion of the entire western shore of Luzon. On 29 March, the Spanish and Dutch fleets fought a battle at Bolizza, in which the Dutch lost, but the Spaniards did not achieve a decisive victory, and Manila remained blockaded.

The Battle of Bolizzon is the most recent piece of information that Orderly knows about the Battle of the Philippines. Now that the Spanish fleet has appeared here, the intelligence is obviously going to be updated, and the West Dutch fleet must have experienced a decisive battle.

Harris: "I'm curious how the Spaniards found us, in the vast South China Seas. ”

It is difficult for a fleet of sailing ships to intercept a particular fleet on the sea, and the perception of sailboats is too limited. There are only two ways to intercept the fleet. Cruising in the key shipping lanes through which the enemy fleet is bound to pass. For example, the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Windward Channel, and the Florida Channel, these narrow straits constitute the necessary route on the route. The other method relies on a strong naval force, using dozens of notification ships and cruisers to open a cruiser chain and visually monitor the possible passage of enemy troops through the sea area. Clearly, Manila does not have either of these conditions. The South China Sea is an open sea, and the Manila fleet is limited.

"It is no secret that we are buying grain in the South Seas, and the Spaniards can easily guess our purpose. The recent contact with Taipei's monsoon fleet should have allowed them to capture a certain pattern. ”

Gardner: "I think there should be a lovely little boat in the capital heading for the Philippines at the same time we set sail. ”

Harris: "The Spaniards' only chance is at the mouth of the Pearl River, and they're really scheming. ”

In order to save time, the fleet basically took a large straight line from Qiongzhou to Taipei, and the route was tangent to the arc of the mainland near the mouth of the Pearl River, which gave the Spaniards an opportunity.

The Sail Warship has an advantageous combat range, and if it continues north to approach the Taiwan Strait, it will enter the Dutch area of Fort Geranza. And at the mouth of the Pearl River, the Spanish fleet could be supported by Macao.

Shou Order: "Seeing that their canvas is so white, it should not have been long since they came, probably in the next few days." ”

The notification ship Tanjiang retreated from the right flank and sailed alongside the Nanhai.

Harris said, "Your Excellency, how are we going to fight?" ”

"The most precious thing in this fleet is not the battleships under our feet, but the transports that are loaded with grain. In Taipei, we and our allies have hundreds of thousands of people waiting to be fed. ”

Shou Xuan spread out the blank paper, brushed and wrote the order, and handed it to the communication officer waiting on the side.

"Tell Collingwood to send the boat to Taipei at all costs."

The communications officer straightened, turned around, and got into the dinghy that was hoisted overboard.

"As for the Spanish fleet," Orderly said to Harris and Gardner, "we'll take care of it." ”

The Tanjiang sailed to Collingwood's flagship, the Yuexiu, with an orderly order, and the transport ships there were in three columns, less than 200 meters apart, roughly side by side.

On the stern deck of the South Sea, Orderly nodded lightly to Gardner. Signal flag No. 76, with a compass point attached, quickly raised to the top of the mast. This signal flag means to follow the flagship to turn according to the compass point given.

Gardner commanded loudly, "Right full rudder." ”

The helmsman's reply came from the wheelhouse, "Yes, full helm right." ”

The Nanhai swerved downwind, plowing the waves in the bow and making a white track. The battle fleet raised its full sails and increased its speed.

Merchant ships are like sheep, and escort ships are like sheepdogs. The Spanish warships would cause incalculable psychological pressure on the owners and sailors of the merchant fleet, and Orderly, fearing the disintegration of the convoy, reinforced Collingwood with 1 frigate and 1 notification ship to help him maintain the merchant fleet.

At this moment, there are only 5 warships left to meet the Spaniards.

Enemy ships are rushing towards the group from an upwind position. The Manila fleet was two knots faster than the convoy of junks, and the two sides entered the engagement distance after about four hours, depending on the distance between the two sides.

Harris clenched his binoculars, "Your Excellency, how are we going to fight?" ”

This was the first fleet battle since the formation of the Federal Navy, and he looked at the childish faces on the deck. This is no longer the pirate team that dared to climb the Galen bulwark in the Caribbean Sea and was not afraid to die. The young soldier had no experience in naval warfare, and he was bound to lose a broadside battle with the Spaniards.

Gardner: "Artillery is also a disadvantage. We had no problem with the Lima, but the three guys in the back, their 6-pounder guns hit the board of the Galen, and I think we all know what the outcome will be. ”

The open decks of the Nanhai and Lima are armed with the same 6-pounder iron cannons as the frigates, but the gun decks have 12-pounder and 16-pounder bronze naval guns, which are interpenetrating with the Galen of Manila at close range. Under normal circumstances, in the battle between Galen, the frigates and the Spanish speedboats could not intervene. The 6-pounder shelling of the Manila galleon was tickling, and the Spaniards condescended to hit the frigate, and the frigate with concentrated fire on the open deck would suffer casualties.

The Union Navy was a nascent force, and it was unsure if the frigates would be able to sustain such casualties and engage the Spaniards in close combat.

Can't take any chances.

Orderly could not imagine what it would be like for the fleet to be defeated and the Spaniards slaughtering the transports. On average, there are 300 tons of rice on every grain ship, and one ship means a thousand lives.

Gardner: "Your Excellency, are we going to take the upper hand?" ”

Now the wind is south-southwest, and the Union Navy is closer to the mainland than the Spaniards, with the Spaniards facing the wind on the port side and the Federation windward on the starboard side. The Spaniards were approaching from the south, upwind of the starboard side of the Confederation.

If you are now in the wind, turn the bow of the boat to the west and stick to the wind. If the Spaniards do not maneuver accordingly, make a large left turn from the west with a windward shift, that is, the port side of the Spaniards to seize their upwind position. It is easy for the small fleet to turn around, and such a maneuver is not too difficult for both sides.

Harris shook his head at Gardner, "Let's go get the upper hand, what about the boats?" ”

Gaining the upper hand meant getting out of the way, and the Spanish fleet could choose not to engage the fleet and rush straight to Collingwood.

Shou Xuan glanced at the sky, it was not noon, and there were still 9 hours before dark.

The compass is taken from the order and calculated on the chart. His order to Collingwood was to turn right before dark and sail to the open sea. With the current winds, the ship will travel about 45 nautical miles during the day and a total of more than 100 nautical miles overnight. As long as the battle fleet dragged the Spaniards, unless they were unlucky, they would lose track of the convoy.

The purpose of the battle was to drag on until dark.

The current comparison is that the Federation Battle Fleet has a speed advantage of about 1 knot. The Spanish fleet had an advantage in artillery battles, an advantage in broadside battles, and sailed slower than merchant ships than Federation warships.

This little speed advantage is not reliable, and the fragile parts of the sail line will quickly be destroyed after an engagement. But this is the only chance to keep order.

The Nanhai hoisted the No. 72 signal flag and formed a two-way column sailing formation. The convoy sailed on the port side of the South Sea and Lima.

Thomas Melo's Baiyun Mountain approached the Nanhai and sailed side by side. The order gave the order to the frigate squadron, and after the battle began, the frigate squadron did everything possible to destroy the enemy speedboat. It was a ship of the same kind as the Federation frigate, and compared to the frigate, the ship was smaller, weaker and slower, but it was the eye of the Spanish fleet for reconnaissance.

The Nanhai and Lima kept their starboard side facing the wind, and ordered the sails to slow down and open the gun doors. Today, the sea conditions are not high, and the lower heavy artillery doors on both sides can be opened.

The Spanish fleet approached from the starboard side rear.

"Tell the kitchen to cook, add meat to lunch."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Also, from now on, until after the meal. Officers and men who are not on duty are allowed to smoke freely on the bow deck. ”

……

Lunch was rice with yellow croaker and marinated pork. The taste is not good, but it far exceeds the level of the diet of ordinary Chinese civilians. Life at sea is hard, but the navy never worries about sailors. There is no need to forcibly recruit or capture civilians at the docks, as in Europe, and the navy is overcrowded every time it recruits sailors. A diet with fish and meat plays a big role.

After the meal, the recruits gathered around the few veterans. Whether it's bragging or telling the truth, the combat experience taught by veterans is always good for the recruits and may save their lives.

Captain Gardner and Chief of Staff Harris return to the cabin for a nap. The orderly was with the soldiers on deck, and he didn't sleep very well, and he generally couldn't sleep at such times.

At 2 p.m., the merchant fleet was four nautical miles northeast of the battle fleet, and the Spanish fleet was approaching.

The stern of the Nanhai was kept in close prominence to the movements of the Spanish fleet.

General Lopez made the conventional choice, and the Spanish fleet closed its sails and slowed down. At the current speed, the two sides will soon enter an artillery battle in the same direction.

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

There are still 6 hours until dark.