Chapter 363 Angry Sea Battle-Battle of Alvoran

[I caught a cold yesterday, and after taking cold medicine, I ended up sleeping all day

The beautiful Mediterranean Sea, with the sea breeze and the blue waves.

The blue sky with the occasional white cloud drifting by.

At the junction of sea and sky, a fleet of sailboats galloped from far and near.

The dragon flag fluttered, and the huge battleship cut through the calm sea water like scissors, setting off waves more than a meter high.

The dolphins accompanying the ship, the flying fish flying through the waves, the seagulls spinning around the high sails, and the sailors on the deck quietly admiring this qiē, it is so peaceful.

The main mast, which is more than 40 meters high, sails to carry the sea breeze and drum sounds.

This fleet of five large warships was the Fifth Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy, the Mediterranean Fleet, which crossed thousands of miles from distant Middle-earth.

When the Royal Navy's Fifth Fleet departed, the Suez Canal was not yet completed, so it had to make a detour through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and cross the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean.

On the deck of the flagship cruiser, Vice Admiral Yang Chen, the commander of the fleet, looked at the blue sea, but he was shouting in his heart.

Europe – I'm back

Then, Yang Chen glanced at his pocket watch, and the time was frozen at eleven o'clock.

"Operator"

"To"

"Combat Alert"

"Yes"

Dangdangdang

A rapid bell rang, the frequency was rapid but beautiful, this is the special alarm channel of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

After hearing the siren, all the officers and men on board the Ranger quickly assembled and entered the combat post in an orderly manner.

The sailors, under the command of the officers, shouted commands and performed all sorts of maneuvers. The artillerymen skillfully loaded the propellants, shells, and primers, locked the bolts, and then opened the gun doors, the muzzles sticking out of the ship.

"Prepare"

The gunners gave the order, and the gunners quickly tightened their clockwork, pressed the trigger with their hands, and made an aiming posture.

"Stop"

Yang Chen glanced at his pocket watch, and the time was frozen at eleven o'clock.

"Looks pretty good"

Seeing the chief of staff Liu Jing coming over, Yang Chen smiled and said, "Seven seconds faster than last time."

Liu Jing smiled bitterly and said, "This is close to the limit, and it is already very difficult to improve again."

Yang Chen nodded, understanding that the current reaction speed was already very fast, even if it was suddenly attacked by the enemy ship, before the enemy ship approached, his own warship had already completed the combat deployment and quickly organized a counterattack.

"Spot enemy ships"

Yang Chen was about to lift the first-level combat readiness state, when he suddenly heard the warning from the mainmast sentry platform, hurriedly climbed to the high place of the bridge, and used the telescope to look.

At this time, in Europe, the Chinese Empire had only one enemy, Spain, and as long as they saw the opposing warships flying the Spanish flag, they should be vigilant.

"It's two Spanish warships"

"Looking at the height of the mast, it seems to be a large battleship"

Yang Chen nodded and said, "In the East, for us, large warships are a rarity, but here"

Yang Chen snorted, and then said with a wry smile: "It's normal."

Liu Jing sighed: "Although the empire has already caught up in the navy, it will obviously take some time"

Yang Chen nodded, noncommittal.

At present, the Imperial Navy has just commissioned a second-class sail battleship, but judging from the construction process of Tornado-class battleships, the construction period is more than four years, and it will take some time for the empire to understand the large warship technology of the West.

"They're coming over"

The sentry shouted, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The two Spanish warships approached and watched their movements, and the other party obviously saw the warships of the Chinese Empire and was ready for battle. It's just that the two warships are about to provoke, which is a bit arrogant.

Obviously, the approach of the two Spanish warships was just a closer look to confirm whether they were their target or not. After all, in recent years, there have been quite a few cruise warships of the Chinese Empire in the Mediterranean.

Liu Jing observed the other party's situation and said: "They should be on routine patrol This is Gibraltar, and after entering the Mediterranean, this is the back garden of the Spaniards."

"Since it's someone's back garden, then we will definitely not be welcomed"

Yang Chen smiled, and then ordered the entire fleet to prepare for battle.

"Combat alert repeats, this is not a drill"

The alarm bell and flag were sounded, and the five warships of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy immediately raised the battle flag and entered the combat state.

At this time, the Chinese Navy had five second-class main battleships, while the Spanish side only had two fourth-class battleships, and there was a huge difference in strength.

Sure enough, after Yang Chen ordered the fleet to make some tactical moves, the two Spanish warships realized the danger and avoided it slightly, but they did not mean to stay away.

The battleship galloped with full sails, drawing snow-white arcs on the sea.

"Do you want to eat them?"

Looking at the two Spanish warships in the distance, Yang Chen suddenly had the idea of hunting.

"I don't think so"

Liu Jing said: "The Suez Canal is open to water, we must reach Sede as much as possible, and assist the canal defenders Therefore, it is better not to provoke the Spaniards." Besides, it doesn't do us any good to start a war in Europe just after we arrived."

The chief of staff was still very conservative, after all, five second-class battleships, although powerful, were nothing in Europe.

Yang Chen smacked his lips and didn't say anything.

At this moment, a battleship suddenly appeared in front of the left, and it was extremely fast.

Looking intently, a Sea Sparrow-class fast communication ship that was following the fleet, the Sea Sparrow 26.

Sea Sparrow Twenty-six has been exploring the way ahead, and if it is so hasty to return, I am afraid that there is nothing good ahead.

Sure enough, the Sea Sparrow communications ship brought back bad news. The Spanish Imperial Mediterranean Fleet sailed out of the military port of Gibraltar and blockaded the waters off Alvoran.

"Looks like we don't want to get in trouble."

Yang Chen turned his head and smiled at Liu Jing, who just smiled bitterly and sighed helplessly.

The Spanish Mediterranean Fleet was the third squadron of the Invincible Fleet, with eight second-class battleships, twelve third-class battleships, and a considerable number of cruisers and frigates, and had always dominated the Mediterranean.

As early as a few days ago, the Spanish Navy had learned from the passing ships that the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Empire was about to arrive in Europe.

The Mediterranean has always been regarded as the back garden of the Spaniards, and the rising French Navy has challenged the Spanish supremacy in this region, and now there is the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Empire, which makes the Spanish Empire very annoyed.

At the same time, for the first time, the Eastern Fleet entered the core area of the Westerners, which gave them a strong inherently exclusive attitude. They believed that the Orientals could not be allowed to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean, so the Spanish Navy decided that as soon as the warships of the Chinese Imperial Navy entered the Mediterranean, they would immediately destroy them.

At this time, the combined naval strength of the British, French, and Dutch navies in Europe was inferior to that of the Spanish Empire. Although the number of warships of the Dutch Navy was huge, it did not fight a decent naval battle in Europe, so its name was unknown and not recognized by European countries. The British Navy fought a beautiful naval battle and defeated the Spanish Armada, but at this time, King Charles I of England broke with Parliament for the fourth time, and after the closure of Parliament, the English Parliament had no illusions about Charles I, and the English Civil War was in a period of rapid brewing. In order to prepare for the civil war, Charles I's naval funds were again misappropriated, so that the navy did not dare to take risks lightly, and could only patrol the English and North Sea regions. The French navy was ready to go on a big scale, but because most of the country had fallen, it was forced to shift its focus to the army.

The Spanish Navy has always been the traditional first navy in Europe, and the maritime power of countries such as Britain and France has been rising. However, the Spanish navy has been arrogant for one or two hundred years, and its deterrent effect is very strong, and Britain, France and other countries do not dare to rashly challenge.

Therefore, they were supportive of the entry of the warships of the Imperial Chinese Navy into the Mediterranean, but only mentally. Of course, they were also worried about the entry of the Imperial Chinese Navy into Europe, so they only wanted the Spanish Navy and the Chinese Navy to die. Therefore, when the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire arrived in Europe, Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries withdrew all the warships near the Mediterranean. At the same time, it conveyed goodwill to the Spanish Navy, saying that it would not interfere with the Spanish Navy against the Chinese Navy.

"What should I do?"

Liu Jing looked at Yang Chen and asked, "The Spanish Navy is waiting for us in front, it seems that it will not give up."

Yang Chen said: "As soon as we came, the Spaniards came to provoke, obviously trying to give us a dismount."

"What are you going to do?"

"With such a big Mediterranean, how easy is it for them to encircle us?"

Liu Jing nodded and said, "Although the Spanish fleet has a large number of warships in the Mediterranean, there are not many that can pose a threat to our warships. ”

Yang Chen said: "If they want to take advantage, the whole fleet must find us for a decisive battle, so we will play a game of hide and seek with them." When their main fleet comes, we will go, and if we send a fleet, we will eat them."

The strength is too weak, and it can only adopt guerrilla tactics

"What about the two enemy ships on the other side?"

Liu Jing pointed to the two Spanish warships that had been following the fleet, haunting them.

"Flies have to be swatted to death, otherwise it's annoying"

Yang Chen snorted coldly, and ordered the fleet to change formations and form two or three arrays.

The flagships Youjia, Youji, and Youlu were the first detachments of the main battle, and the Youcheng and Youlang were the second detachments of the second battle, which specialized in pinning down enemy ships and waiting for opportunities to attack. And Sea Sparrow 26 was on guard in the distance.

The order was given, and the first detachment quickly turned left and slowed down to the northwest. The second detachment turned southwest and left at full speed.

When the two Spanish warships spotted it, they quickly slowed down, observed the situation, and remained on alert at a distance of two thousand meters. They also knew that they were not opponents, so they did not dare to approach from afar.

Seeing that two battleships of the Chinese Navy had turned around, the Spaniards quickly separated the two battleships, one kept the tracking direction unchanged, and the other turned around to chase the two battleships of the Chinese Navy.

As the southerly wind became stronger, the Cruiser and Wanderer sailed southwest for some distance before quickly turning around and heading north at full speed. The Spanish battleship Grigu, which was pursuing them, realized that something was wrong and hurriedly turned around.

There was a time difference in wind acceleration between the two sides during the big turn, and by the time the Grigu turned back again, the Wanderer and the Wave had already caught up.

Here, the three ships of the Youjia, the Youji, and the Youlu also took advantage of the fact that the Spanish battleship slowed down to observe the situation, and suddenly accelerated to pursue with all their might. By the time the Spanish battleship Tacé reacted, the distance between the two sides was less than 800 meters.

The Mogu and the Takai naturally did not dare to engage the Imperial Chinese Navy, and the Spaniards did not have an advantage in terms of firepower or the number of warships, so they chose to flee quickly.

At first, the Spaniards were not very worried, as long as they escaped all the way, the other side would definitely not be able to catch up, and at the same time, they could smoothly lead the other side into the position of their own fleet. However, when both sides were moving at full speed, gradually the Spaniards discovered that the Chinese Imperial warships were faster, with a difference in speed by one section, and caught up in less than an hour.

The two Spanish warships tried to change course, but at this time the Imperial Chinese Navy occupied the upwind position, and could steadily control the course, always chasing after the Spanish battleship.

At 1:20 p.m., the battleship Youjia was the first to catch up with the Takai, and the two sides were traveling in parallel, about 700 meters apart.

"Left rudder fifteen, hit him in the bow and force him to turn"

On the bridge, Yang Chen issued tactical orders in an orderly manner.

With a cannon bang, a 130 mm Shenwu cannon on the port side of the Youjia took the lead in firing. The shells whistled and fired in front of the enemy ship, and the hot shells fell into the sea and immediately stirred up a column of water several meters high.

The impact point of the shell landed more than 90 meters in front of the starboard side of the enemy ship Takai, and the approximate location of the impact point was quickly read out from the main mast of the Youjia.

Knock knock

Two cannons rang out in quick succession.

After the first gun was fired, the No. 1 gun position on the second deck and the No. 1 gun position on the third deck opened fire again. After firing the 150-millimeter guns on the second deck and the 200-millimeter cannons on the third gun deck, the observers on the main mast quickly reported the location of the impact points and sent them back to the gun deck for correction.

Knock knock

Then a series of cannon shots rang out, and the other forty guns on the port side of the Ranger opened fire one after another, and one shell after another burst out of the gun chamber, drawing thick white lines and flying towards the enemy ship.

In an instant, columns of water of varying lengths rose from the sea near the enemy ship Takai, like a column of beating notes.

In the dense shells, two shells hit the bow of the enemy ship Takai, and two holes were smashed open.

Not to be outdone, the Takai quickly returned fire, and suddenly the sea was filled with gunsmoke and the sea water boiled in an instant.

After a round of shells exchanged between the two sides, the 28 guns on the starboard side of the Takai were clearly outnumbered by the 43 guns of the Youjia. Moreover, at a distance of seven or eight hundred meters, the Ranger hit two shells of the Takai, while the Takai failed to hit one of the Ranger's shells.

The cannon roared, the whistling was deafening, the smoke was filled, and the smoke was billowing like a cloud.

Five minutes later, the Takai was hit thirteen rounds and the Ranger was hit once. The Takai was defeated by the Wanderer and had to turn to evade. As a result, the Takai slowed down. The Rider continued to travel upwind for some distance before turning as well.

At 1:30 a.m., the Youjia seized the "T" prefix of the Takai, and formed a "7" shaped sickle formation with the Youqi and Youjiao, forming a comprehensive artillery fire coverage on the front and port side of the Takai.

The salvo of guns on the port side of the three second-class battleships reached one hundred and twenty-nine, and the shells rained down on the Takai, causing smoke and rain in the sky.

More than half of the starboard guns of the Takai were suddenly extinguished. The flames flew, the hull was damaged, and the personnel were killed and injured. The bow of the ship was fired at four volleys of fire, and the mast and foredeck were shattered, and the holes were as numerous as a hornet's nest.

The Takai was leaking from the water, and the interior was like a fountain, and the Spanish sailors struggled to repair it, but with little effect.

The sea water was getting deeper and deeper, and the speed of the battleship was dragged down by Yanzhòng, and the mast was broken, and the bow steering failed, which made it even worse.

At 1:37 a.m., the Youji fired its fifth salvo, and five shells fired from a 200-millimeter gun instantly hit the starboard waterline of the Takai. The battered waterline and planks that had been mended and replenished were smashed to pieces in an instant, and seawater poured in from the six-meter-wide opening, causing the battleship to tilt to the right and sink rapidly.

Many of the Spanish sailors on deck fell into the sea, and their ghosts and wolves could be heard from afar.

Compared with the easy battle of the first detachment of the Chinese Imperial Mediterranean Fleet, the second detachment's Youxing and Youlang's pursuit of the Gugu were more laborious.

When the Grigu discovered the other party's intention to flank him, he also resisted. However, the firepower of a single ship was inferior to that of the two ships, the Youcheng and the Youlang, and was sandwiched between the two ships and bombarded, and the hull was damaged for a while, and there were a large number of casualties.

At this point, the Glimbo made a super bold tactic. That is, taking advantage of the opportunity when the Cruiser finished shooting and the smoke covered the sea, he made a 90-degree turn regardless of the Qiē and crashed directly into the port side of the Cruise.

Although the Cruiser had many guns, a single salvo of fire could not destroy or cripple an enemy ship. At the same time, the Cruiser was a second-class battleship, and if it collided with the Imitation, the result of both sides would obviously be the same end.

This is clearly a good deal

As a result, the Wanderer had to make an emergency turn to avoid the Replication.

At this time, the Wanderer on the other side could not shoot, because it was easy to accidentally injure the Wanderer if it fired again. And when the Cruiser made an emergency turn, the hull tilted sharply, and the starboard guns could not fire.

In this way, the Gagou escaped from the gap between the two ships.

As a result, the Wanderer and the Wanderer had to turn around and chase after the Imitation Ancient. Due to the heavy damage to the hull of the Gago, it ate a lot of seawater, and the speed was a little slow. But even so, it was an hour before he caught up with the Grigu.

Seeing that the Wanderer and the Wanderer were approaching, the abominable Que Gu made several tactical evasions, and after feeling that it could not escape, it immediately surrendered.

Just as the Cruiser was about to capture the enemy ship, the Sea Sparrow communication ship gave a warning that a large number of Spanish warships suddenly came from the north.

In desperation, the Wanderer opened fire at a distance of fifty meters from the Replica, and in an instant sent the Replica to meet Jesus. M