In the binoculars, he could clearly see that the forward battleships of his fleet had been hit by one or several shells, and then the entire aft tower had been blown away in half, and the broken wood had been swept into the sea along with the bodies of the helmsman, captain, first mate, and navigator, without even a single wave. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

It is impossible for the deck guns to hit such a distance, nor to have such great power, let alone such a high hit rate. The first wave of fire can hit a target five or six hundred meters away, which can only be done by firing the cannon with God.

“…… We were fooled, and this is a trap set by Karl...... My God! They fired again, and it was less than ten seconds! "When the second wave of shelling hit, although it didn't hit any target, Lord Jiang's face had turned pale.

"Jiang, we just lost a few officers, that battleship still has combat effectiveness, don't be so panicked." The earl was a little dissatisfied with Lord Jiang's performance, as the commander of the fleet, how could he be so undetermined. Although he had never fought a formal naval battle, he had experienced numerous land battles in his life, and there were some issues in common between the two.

"Lord Earl, it's not me who is alarmed. Their naval guns were too long-range and powerful. You see, their ships were picking up speed, always firing backwards in front of us with broadside and stern guns that could change angles, but we couldn't reach them. If we continue to fight like this, we will not have the slightest chance of winning, and our courage will not sink any battleship. Lord Jiang shook his head and refuted the earl's accusations against him with actual facts.

As soon as Lord Jiang's words fell, the fleet vanguard, which had been hit by the first wave of artillery bombardment, which had blown most of the stern away, was hit by the third wave of artillery fire, this time the bow of the ship was punched out of two large holes, and the tonnage of sea water instantly made the three-masted battleship lose power like a sudden brake, and even the foremast was broken by the huge inertia.

“…… Cunning heretics, sooner or later I will burn you in the square. Jiang, I retract the reckless words just now, now the fleet is still yours, I support all your decisions, please! "Reality speaks louder than words, and the Earl is a very good listener, especially in what he is not good at, and he once again reaffirmed Lord Jiang's command of this fleet.

"I'll do my best...... There must be a reason why they have gone to such great lengths to lure us into this sea to fight. The first problem we need to deal with now is the damn wind! Lord Jiang was not dazed by the Earl's encouragement, he also wiped the spit in his palm like Karl, and held it high above his head, and after a few seconds, he discovered the enemy's first purpose.

"I really admire their commander, who lost only one boat and fled without firing a single shot. Most people don't have the courage and rational choice of a strong man to break his wrist. "Just after five rounds of shelling, less than half an hour before and after, the other side has already begun to lower the sails and turn, which makes Hong Tao a little surprised, he very much wants to meet the commander of the other side.

"Turn back into a column, approach to five hundred meters against the wind, and concentrate on shooting the enemy ships that are lowering their sails!" Appreciation and appreciation, the top priority now Hong Tao has not forgotten, the more he encounters an opponent with brains, the more excited Hong Tao is, and the sense of accomplishment of defeating this kind of person is stronger.

Under Hong Tao's command, seven Virginia-class battleships were like flying fish swimming against the surface of the sea, passing the Flemish Hanseatic fleet again and again, which was making a U-turn downwind, and each time at least three rounds of artillery bombardment came.

Although the number of shells was not large, the hit rate was a bit high for the slow-sailing Flemish Hanseatic battleship. By the time they had managed to make a U-turn and raise the full sails again, only nine of the fifteen ships were intact, and two of the remaining six ships had lost power, just like the one with the bow shattered, and were barely able to survive on their own buoyancy. The hulls of the other four ships were tilted, and although they were still trying to keep up with the fleet, it was clear that they would not be able to keep up for long and would have to fall behind.

Even if the nine ships successfully completed the U-turn, the situation at this time is not optimistic. The seven schooners swept away the stumbling of a few hours earlier in the headwind, and each one became alive and well, like a school of salmon swimming upstream, bending between the swells, and every now and then sending a few deadly cannonballs.

Even if the hit rate is not high in the process of driving at high speed and constantly changing direction, as long as one shot is fired, it is not light, and the forty-centimeter-thick oak plank cannot stop those shells of small caliber at all. Before dusk, two more Flemish Hanseatic warships were hit in the hull, and the speed of the ship gradually slowed down due to the inability to effectively plug the loopholes.

The Earl's flagship was also hit by two shells, but it was a little lucky not to hit the hull near the waterline, but the artillery deck was unlucky, and a group of gunners were hit by flying wood chips and projectile fragments, and most of the deck had become hell on earth.

"It's too much! They didn't go to rescue the sailors on the sunken ship at all, this is the way barbarians would fight! At this time, the Earl no longer talked so lightly about how to fight a sea, for a man who was accustomed to riding a tall horse and charging with a spear, the sea battle was really helpless, and he couldn't use any strength in his body. What made the earl even more chilling was that none of the enemy ships came to the rescue of the ships that were about to sink, and they still walked around the neighborhood without leaving a single step.

"My lord, naval warfare has the rules of naval warfare. If we don't surrender, they won't come to the aid of the enemy. In fact, the sailors on those ships were abandoned by us. At this time, Lord Jiang was no longer in the mood to coax this earl, who knew nothing about naval warfare but had to take his son on board to experience it, and if it weren't for their father and son, maybe he wouldn't be in this situation......

"Jiang, can we still escape?" The Earl didn't seem to care about someone at this time, and the only thing he could rely on now was this Oriental, and if he provoked him, he might throw his father and son off the boat. These sailors were all trained by him himself, and there is probably no earl or not earl in his eyes.

"Let's wait until it's completely dark, and then we'll go in different directions, and hopefully there will be no moon tonight......" Lord Jiang gave the earl and his son a fairly definite hope, but he didn't tell the truth.

If the enemy's ship is fast enough and knows his approximate course, it is also possible to track it at night, otherwise how could he have chased Karl for so many days without losing it. Extinguishing the mast light can only be a single ship, and if it is a fleet formation, the danger of not having a mast light is not much worse than a naval battle.

The commander of the Flemish Hanseatic fleet was really ruthless, he really scattered the fleet, and the ships independently drove in the east, northeast, and north directions, so that the mast lights could be extinguished, so that the pursuers could not find their own course.

"It's so ruthless, if you don't even take a fixed route, you're not afraid of hitting islands and reefs!" After receiving the report from the lookout, Hong Tao really admired the commander of the enemy, how determined he must be, and it was called a death oath.

"Let's go ahead and intercept it! By the way, where did your cargo ship go with mine, I haven't seen them! Faced with this situation, Karl knew that there was only one way, and that was to intercept ahead of time and wait in the sea area that the opponent had to pass.

"Cruising at the southern end of the North Channel, I don't believe they would dare to return from the west side of the island of England around the North Sea, what do you say?" At present, Hong Tao had expected this situation for a long time, and the four armed cargo ships in the fleet had already assembled in the pre-agreed sea area, accompanied by Karl's two whaling ships.

The base of the fleet of the Flemish Hanseatic must have been in the Flanders region, or somewhere along the coast of later Germany and Denmark. It is unlikely that they will be able to return to their home port from the windy North Sea with high winds and near-freezing temperatures around the British Isles, and the English Channel is their only route, where it is fitting to wait for them to be caught. And since they have dispersed and broken through, they will no longer try to assemble when there are pursuers behind, and they will not have a chance to run away if they want to. The flood was about to sink to the bottom of the sea in the direction of their home port at their doorstep.

(To be continued.) )