Waldo didn't know that when he led the first detachment to attack the treasure ships of the Ming army, the other warships of the Ming fleet had already rounded back to the sides of the combined fleet, and the guns were aimed at the warships of several other detachments of the combined fleet at a distance of more than 1,000 paces.

"Fire!"

Hao Tong and Deng Zilong gave orders at the same time in two different places.

"Boom! Boom! ”

The cannon roared, the smoke rose from the sea, and the waves were raging. The shells exploded at sea, in the air, on the decks of ships, and blinding flames enveloped the entire combined fleet.

"At what distance did the Chinese fire their artillery?"

The commanders of the fleets subconsciously asked the same sentence.

They remember very well that Valdo had told them that the effective range of the Ming artillery was 500 paces, and the shells had a certain ability to destroy ships, but it usually took three shells to hit one after the other to sink a light clipper.

However, what they see now is completely different from Waldo's account. The warships of the Ming army opened fire at a distance of more than 1,000 paces, and the shells whistled in, without the slightest decline. The power of the cannonball was far more powerful than Valdo said, and if a four-masted ship was hit by a single shell head-on, it would be completely incapacitated, and in serious cases, it would disintegrate and sink in an instant.

"Could it be that the Chinese improved their artillery?" Dick asked, surprised.

"No, Mr. Commander, it was Valdo who was deceived by the Chinese." Dick's staff officer, Colin, said that no one is a fool, and this kind of small military trick can only deceive people for a while, but cannot deceive people for a lifetime.

However, what the Chinese need is only to deceive them for a while. In this way, the fleets of European countries were easily fooled and fell into the encirclement of the Great Ming Naval Division. The Chinese are no longer afraid that the Europeans will know their strength, because they have no intention of letting the combined fleet return alive.

Catch up?

All the commanders thought so, so they gave orders. Let your detachment advance to meet the enemy. As long as they can rush to a distance of 500 steps from the Chinese fleet, their Koufeilin guns can hit the Ming ship, and if not achieve the purpose of destroying the ship, at least they can suppress the fire of the Chinese.

However, the Ming army does not speak of gentlemanly spirit, you rush forward, I will retreat, always keep a distance of 1,000 paces from you, and then constantly snipe your ships with long-range artillery fire.

The cost of both gunpowder and shells was very considerable, and artillery was fired frequently. It also consumes the service life of the barrel. And the price of a cannon barrel is also sloppy. But at this time. All these considerations can only be put aside, and the gain of a salvo that destroys even one European ship far outweighs the cost. Su Hao had already released his words before the war: regardless of the cost, strive to solve the European naval power in the South Seas in World War I.

One, two, three......

The number of sunken and damaged European warships is rising by leaps and bounds. However, the distance between the combined fleet and the Ming fleet was not significantly shortened. The commanders of various countries began to be a little overwhelmed, and the ships that had set fire at sea were the capital they had brought from the great voyage from Europe, and they were so worthless to throw them at sea.

Gather together and attack one place?

Such an idea was also quickly implemented, and the ships of the five detachments braved the artillery fire of the Ming army to move closer together, then chose a suitable direction and began a group charge.

The combined fleet changed tactics. The Ming fleet reacted on its heels. The warships of the Ming army were equipped with high-powered telescopes, and their judgment of the situation at sea was far more accurate than that of the combined fleet.

"Hao Tong, who is good, has no love war, and does not let Hongyi get close to him. Let's hurry up and catch up and beat them hard in Hongyi's back. Deng Zilong observed the enemy situation in his boat. Orders are issued to subordinates.

If someone has a god's perspective and can look down from the air to the sea, he will find that the situation on the sea is like a few agile matadors teasing a mad bull. These bullfighters are naturally several detachments of the Ming army. And that brute bull is the combined European fleet with 100 warships.

The combined fleet moved south, and Hao Tong in the south quickly retreated, preventing the other party from sticking up. Deng Zilong's division, which was located in the north, followed closely and hunted the rear wing of the combined fleet with artillery. Seeing that Hao Tong had run away, the combined fleet turned around and attacked Deng Zilong, Deng Zilong hurriedly left, and then Hao Tong killed another horse pistol and killed him from behind the combined fleet.

The gunboats, which had been converted from treasure ships and merchant ships, became a barrier that the Combined Fleet could not break. Due to the large enough load capacity, the guns on these ships were so large that a single salvo could form a net of fire at sea, and any ship that tried to break through this net of fire would be crushed.

"Mr. Valdo, we have been fooled, we will not be able to win this battle no matter what." Kevin finally felt hopeless, the difference in artillery range was doubled, and such a battle could not be fought.

"However, if we retreat at this time, our losses will never be recovered." Valdo said.

Kevin said: "Mr. Valdo, our losses are already irreparable, and if we fight again, we will only make the losses even more." ”

Valdo raised his eyes to look at the Ming warships in front of him, and then at his own warships that were shot and caught fire on both sides, sighed long, and ordered: "Send a signal to Mr. Dick and ask to retreat." ”

Dick was the commander-in-chief of the operation, and all operations had to be coordinated through him. On his flagship, he saw at a glance the signal flag raised by the St. Mary's, and he knew that the signal flag meant to request evacuation. Before he could think about how to reply to Valdo, the same flag was hoisted on the ships of England, France, and Portugal. Almost at the same time, everyone realized that this naval battle was impossible to win.

"Retreat!" Seeing that everyone had lost their fighting spirit, Dick immediately made a decision and gave the order to retreat.

"Hongyi has retreated?" Su Hao, who was watching the enemy on the treasure ship, saw the enemy's movements, "Come on, put the cannon, inform Deng Zongbing and Hao Guerrilla that the enemy fleet is going to run, and ask them to quickly pursue and intercept and expand the results of the battle." ”

The trumpets sounded, and the warships of the Ming army hung their sails and pursued the combined fleet that had fled.

"The Chinese are catching up, do you want to turn back and meet them?" Staff Officer Colin asked Dick.

"Can't fall for them!" "Once we turn back, they'll run away again, and their purpose is to entangle us and then gradually eliminate us." Now that you have decided to retreat, you must not fall in love with war. ”

"Understood, but, Mr. Commander, I suggest arranging some ships to hinder the pursuit of the Chinese." Colin suggested.

Dick nodded: "You're right, come here, hang the signal flag, and order Valdo to lead his fleet to take charge of the rear of the palace and cover the retreat of the combined fleet." ”

The signal flag was hung out, and Waldo, who had been following the entire fleet, saw the signal flag and was angry: "Damn! Dick, this bastard, actually wants to sacrifice us to drag the Chinese. ”

"We can't take this order!" Kevin said, "If we stay, we will definitely be wiped out by the Chinese, and Dick and they can take the opportunity to escape." If we can't go back, then our country's sphere of influence in Southeast Asia will definitely be carved up by these sons of bitches. ”

"Of course I won't stay." Waldo said, "Fuck the Combined Fleet, I suffered a slight setback and ran away in a hurry. If this is the case, why should I invite them to war? ”

He forgot that he was the first to ask for a retreat, and that this naval battle was fought the way it is because he fell for the Chinese and sent the wrong message to the navies of various countries.

"Full speed ahead!" Waldo ordered the sailors that he should not see the signal flag that Dick had hoisted.

Dick noticed Waldo's performance, but couldn't do anything about it. The combined fleet was originally a rabble, and if the war was won, everyone could also discuss how to divide the spoils. Now that I am sure that I have lost, it is a situation where we will fly separately when the catastrophe comes.

"Boom!"

A loud bang rang out next to Dick's boat. Dick subconsciously looked back, but saw that the pursuers behind him were already 2,000 paces away from him, and he was almost unable to see clearly. Could it be that at such a distance, the Chinese can also open fire?

"Mr. Commander, look ahead!" Colin screamed and pointed ahead with a look of fear in his eyes.

Dick followed Colin's finger and saw that directly in front of their retreat, a shadow of a dark sail appeared in the Raven Land, blocking their way. It was an unprecedentedly large fleet, numbering more than a hundred ships, including three or four huge treasure ships.

On those warships, the flag of the red sun and yellow moon was flying, and Dick knew that this was the flag of the powerful country called "Daming".

All the ships of the Combined Fleet stopped, and the sailors and soldiers on board all looked at the Daming Fleet that suddenly appeared in front of them in distraction. Just now, they were beaten to the ground by more than 20 Ming warships, and now, with hundreds of warships in front of them, can they still have a chance to escape?

"Who is the commander of the fleet, please come forward and answer!"

A small sampan left the Ming fleet and sailed to the combined fleet. On that small sampan, there were several soldiers of the Great Ming Naval Division, and a red-haired, high-nosed European missionary. The missionary asked aloud to the Combined Fleet in Spanish, and the sampan cruised among the ships, and then, under the instructions of each ship, came to Dick's flagship.

"I am Rust the missionary, and I am God's will to save you! The Ming Armada has arrived, and it is impossible for you to defeat them. Now only surrender to the Ming Dynasty is the only way out for everyone! The missionary said loudly to Dick.